The Hand is a Dangerous Tool
by psykostevey999
Summary: Heiji sits on his porch early one morning to await the sunrise. As he awaits the sun, he can't help but think back on the events of the past few days that have him fixated on his left hand. COMPLETE! EPILOGUE COMING SOON
1. Prologue

Hattori Heiji awakes to find himself panting and covered in sweat. It is still very early in the morning, hours before he would usually wake up for school. The nightmare he just had, however, has completely jarred him into consciousness. Seeing the futility in an attempt to return to sleep, he decides to begin his day early. He makes his way to the shower, oblivious to his still sleeping parents in the other room. He showers significantly longer than usual, considering that he has hours to burn before he has to leave for school. When he finally exits the shower, dries and dresses himself, he peaks his head into his parent (whom he recently recalled were still asleep)'s room, to make sure they haven't been disturbed. When he is reassured by the sight of their still unconscious selves, he tip-toes down the stairs and prepares his breakfast. His breakfast is light; two pieces of toast, an orange and a glass of cold water. After he finishes the toast and orange, he reaches for the glass of water. Once he has the beverage in his grasp, he stops to acknowledge the coolness of it on his still warm palm. Despite having woken up from his nightmare nearly an hour ago, his body is still very warm. The glass' temperature contrasts the temperature of his hand to a shocking extent. He observes the glass in his hand closely as a bead of water from the condensation on the cup streaks down the side of his palm, to the edge of wrist and eventually falls to the table. When the drop hits the table his intense fixation is broken, and he drinks the water. After cleaning up the dishes from his meal, he stands in the middle of his living room, contemplating how he could make use of the remaining hours he had to spend. The lights are still, leaving his to stand and think in a virtually pitch black room, which for him, was actually helpful. A few miniscule thoughts cross his mind, but none of any particular interest. Then, he looks out his window and notices that the sun has yet to rise. He smiles at the thought of a sunrise over the city of Osaka, and resolves to observe it. So he goes to the kitchen, fetches a chair and carries it out to the front porch. He sets it down and faces it outward toward the city. He knows that his city is directly east of his house, and so the sun will rise almost directly in front of him. He adjusts himself in the chair and readies himself for the natural phenomenon that he is about to witness. As he bites his time, he looks back to his hand that had caught his attention a few minutes ago. He observes the natural groves and indentations on it. He then notices all of the scars and scrapes on it, noting the occurrences that resulted in each of them. He thinks back on how long some of the scars have remained there, one especially, which has lingered on his hand since he was just nine years old. He laughs lightly to himself as he recalls the incident in which he tripped while chasing Kazuha during a simple game and scratched both hands. Although the right hand healed, the left still shows the remnants of his injury. He runs his four top fingers along his palm, feeling the sensation as they move along. When they reach the top of his palm, he reopens his hands and continues analyzing it. The hand that consumes his thoughts now had done so for the past three days.


	2. Those Two are Idiots

**~Three Days Earlier~**

"Ne, are those two still not talking?" The atmosphere in the homeroom of the Osaka High School where Toyama Kazuha and Hattori Heiji attended had been tense to say the least for the past week. This tension had many of the students in the class worried

"Nope. It seems they really got on each other's nerves this time" Heiji and Kazuha were known for a few things among their peers: one was fighting, which usually involved screaming insults, yelling the oh so common "Aho!" and even some physical violence(mostly received by Heiji). Two was there odd relationship. It was a widely known fact that those two acted more like a couple than most actual couples. To most students, they were a couple. That was all there was to it. Three was their ability to baffle and entertain the class with one or both of the first two things.

"So wait, what exactly are they fighting about?"

"Okay, get this: I heard from a friend whose friend's with Kazuha that she went out on a date with some guy from another class to make Hattori-san jealous"

"Okay, that explains why he is mad, but why is she reluctant to speak with him?"

"Hold on, I'm not done yet. So she goes to the movies with this guy. They go to see some romance movie that she knew Heiji would hate just to make sure he didn't tag along. About halfway through the movie, her date says he needs to use the restroom. When he comes back, he is jittery and nervous and he tells her he has to leave and he runs out of the theatre in a hurry. She runs after him and when she catches him she's curious as to why he all the sudden had to go. He is reluctant to say, and gives her a few garbage answers like 'oh I have homework' and 'oh I forgot to feed my cat'. However, after she persists for a few minutes. He eventually enlightens her"

"Woah, so wait what happened?"

"Would you stop interrupting? jeez. Anyway, it turns out Heiji caught wind of her little date and cornered the guy in the bathroom. He apparently came fully clothed in a Kendo sparring uniform, facemask and all. He put his sword in his face and told him to back off Kazuha or he would break his arm."

"Dang what a guy. But wait, wouldn't Toyama-chan be happy about that? After all, the point of the date was to make him jealous right?"

"If you interrupt me again, I'm going to punch you now shut up and let me finish. ANYWAY, when they walked to school the next day, she confronted him about the previous night. Instead of admitting to his jealousy and taking her in his arms like she, for some reason, thought he would he completely denied the allegations. Yeah, he actually said the guy was a liar and that he had been home all night studying for a pre-calculus exam. And to make matters worse, he, being the oblivious moron he is, had the gall to ask her 'Why would I be jealous of you going on a date with a guy anyway?' Can you believe that guy?"

"Wait, so he's mad because she went a date with another guy, and she's mad because he won't admit that he's mad because she went on a date with another guy? "

"That about it"

"And she hasn't noticed that he is mad about her going on that date because she's too busy being angry about him not telling her that he is mad because she went on that date?"

"Exactly"

"Those two are idiots"

"We figured that out a long time ago. But I guess it's hardest to solve the mysteries that are right in front of you."

"That's a little ironic considering he's a genius detective"

"Definitely. Leave it to a detective to be so clueless"

As the students shared a quiet laugh, the class remained still and fairly silent. Little mumbles could be heard here and there, but overall the class was very unlike a normal high school classroom. This was not to the liking of the student body, who, without a single word, had come to a mutual conclusion: this fight had to end.


	3. They Appeared to be Doing Hamlet

_The strangest phenomenon that presented itself in the midst of the longstanding silence between Kazuha and Heiji was that they still walked to and from school together. This baffled their peers, who had always assumed that a "fight" meant that you don't associate with one another. And a thirty minute walk to and from school five days a week definitely qualified as association. _

"So wait" a male student said with a puzzled look on his face "they walk home together even though they won't talk to each other?"

"That's about it." The two male students, both looking fatigued and annoyed, stood at the front exit of the school "I know, I was confused at first too. You have to remember though, there are not like regular people. They are something completely different" As they continued to carry on casually, they were suddenly approached from behind

"Oh hey you waited!" Kiyumi-chan was a female student in their class, and despite their apparent annoyance, she appeared very genial

"Yes, Kiyumi-chan, of course we waited. Almost an hour and a half we waited. Now, what do you want?"

"I have a plan to end all this madness between those two" she said, pointed a determined finger at the two silent teenagers walking away from the school, head pointed away from one another. They were just leaving the school after their Aikido and Kendo practices respectively.

"Should we be surprised, you always butt in to other people's lives." Kiyumi took a step back, pouting sarcastically from the comment

"Hmph!" The two students stared at her with unconvinced eyes "Okay I forgive you. So anyway I need your help. Do you know anyone that can be a believable impression of Hattori-san?" They both looked at each for second, almost perturbed by her possible intentions

"Uh…well there's Bakuyo-san. He is really good at it, but he has drama club in room 2-B right now. What are you trying to do exactly?"

"Don't worry about, just stay here I'll be right back!" she screamed as she ran off

"Great, once again, we have to stand here like idiots"

"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't be as long this time" he said, unconvinced by his own argument They both stood at the entrance, arms crossed, and visibly annoyed by the situation.

Meanwhile, a flustered Kiyumi sprinted down the corridor of the school building, trying to locate 2-B as fast as humanly possible. When she finally arrived at the room, the thought slipped her mind that there was a poetry club in session, and she shoved upon the door violently

"Bakuyo-san!" she exclaimed apprehensively, now realizing the full extent of how stupid she looked. Every head in the room was now turned toward her. They had apparently been doing a rendition of the ending scene in Hamlet. There was a female student and a male student lying on the ground in what seemed to be royal gowns. They were faced down, which she guessed implied that they were dead. As she stood there awkwardly, a voice came from seemingly nowhere

"Uh…that's me, do I know you?" as he asked this, he rose from the ground. He was fully clad in ceremonial robes for a monarch and he was staring at her in borderline bewilderment

"No, but I need your help! Please?" After taking a second to analyze the unknown girl in front of him, he came to the conclusion that there was no harm in helping a cute girl like her with a problem. And besides, if she had come here to seek him out specifically, it had to be important

"Fine, but let's hurry so I can finish up here" he turned and addressed his fellow club members "Sorry guys, this sounds urgent. I'll be back shortly" with that, he threw off the cape, over-shirt and legging he had on and jogged out the door, Kiyumi trailing behind him. Once they left the room, she took him by the hand and dragged him along through the hallway. He couldn't help but marvel at the moment. He had never really held a girl's hand before, so, despite the circumstances this was a special moment for him. When they finally arrived at the entrance to the school, the two students waiting turned to "greet" them.

"Who the hell is this guy? Why the hell did you ask us to wait here? And what the hell are you planning?" They said in unison, startling Kiyumi momentarily. There waiting was going on two hours, and they were no longer feeling generous

"Would you calm down?" She asked softly "Now, Bakuyo-san, can I hear you Hattori Heiji impression?"

"You mean you brought me out here in such a rush just to-"

"I know it sounds odd, but trust me, its important" she said, with a slightly more serious inflection in her voice. Bakuyo grumbled to himself, then he placed an open hand in front of his face, inhaled, and then closed it as he exhaled. Then he looked at them sternly for a second

"Aho! Don't touch me! You know you really are an Aho! Why do I even bother with you? Aho!" he almost yelled, practically dumbfounding the three that stood before him

"That was amazing Bakuyo! Do me next!"

"No" Kiyumi said coldly "He's perfect, now its time to put the plan into action"

"You still haven't told us what the plan is Kiyumi" one of the male students said, staring agitatedly at her.

"I'll explain all of that on the way, come on we have to run or we'll miss them!" The three teenage boys all look at one another, all seriously contemplating walking away. Finally, after realizing that Kiyumi had already started running ahead of them, they each breathed a heavy sigh of inconvenience and started to run after her.

"This is going to work" Kiyumi said with a fiery gleam in her eye "I know it will"


	4. Here We Go

_As the four students sprinted full speed away from the school, the three boys that trailed Kiyumi couldn't help but wonder_

"WHERE THE HELL ARE WE GOING!" one of the two from the entrance finally screamed

"Just a little bit farther, then I'll explain everything" So they continued on, having to jump fences, dodge various obstacles and even climb through a very miniscule hole in a cement wall. When Kiyumi finally stopped running, Bakuyo and the other two could barely breathe.

"Okay…." Bakuyo tried to say between his gasps for air "What….are we….doing here?"

"Okay listen up, I can only explain this once. In approximately two and a half minutes, Toyama-chan and Hattori-san are going to come walking by here" she pointed up to the small bicycle road that ran from the school into the more rural area of the city "when they come by, I want you two to grab Hattori-san and drag him behind that tall bush so Toyama-chan can't see him. You have to cover his mouth"

"Kiyumi-chan, this is starting to sound almost…criminal don't you think?"

"Idiot, its not like we're going to kidnap him, we just need out of the way for a few moments. But you have to hold him still, if Toyama-chan catches on, we're busted."

"Right, but Kiyumi-chan, you are aware he is the Kendo team captain right? How do you expect us to subdue him?"

"That's up to you, but you better not mess it up or I won't even speak to you again" they both groaned, but nodded in defeat. Bakuyo was obviously disturbed by the plan thus far and was obviously nervous about his role in it. "Now, Bakuyo, that's where you come in"

"What are you talking about?"

"I need you to say…" she trailed off as she began to whisper in his ear. He reacted to her prepared lines with both embarrassment and confusion.

"You want to say that? Are you sure?"

"Trust me. It doesn't make sense to you, you're a normal guy. They are not normal, so this will work, trust me. This is how they communicate"

"You seem to know a lot about those two…." Bakuyo said, staring inquisitively at her

"What can I say, after a week of this nonsense, I decided to do some recon so I could make this whole plan….plus I may have had a bit of a crush on Hattori-kun a few years ago"

"Well that explains a lot"

"Shut up they're coming" the four of them crept closer to the biker trail as the pair finally approached their position. The wind blew softly and whirled the grass around them. The two students in charge of subduing the Kendo champ were sweating, but Kiyumi was just staring intently at her targets. They all took a deep breath, unplanned yet virtually in unison. "Here we go"


	5. Sheer Cowardess or Complete Genius

_The two friends were now currently in their tenth silent walk together. It was Friday and ever since Saturday they hadn't spoken to one another. This walk home proved especially awkward, considering that their parents had informed them the previous night of dinner arrangements they had made for both families. In fact, they essentially had to get dressed and leave as soon as they got home. What made it worse was that Heizo and Shizuka had left clothes at the Toyama residence so Heiji could just change there. In full knowledge of the awkwardness to come, the two had kept even more distance between them than usual._

"I can't believe he won't just admit he was jealous already" Kazuha had been thinking this, or something close to it, all week "I mean really, does he think I'm that stupid? Like I can't tell when someone is jealous….like I can't tell if he is jealous? And why is it such a big deal anyway? Am I that unappealing that he feels like he has to lie to me about caring about me?" As she continued to think pessimistic and unsettling thought, she heard a rustling in a bush to the other side of the road. She paid it little mind, unwilling to even look in Heiji's direction, until a large thud broke her from her concentration. She turned to find him gone and no sound could be heard.

"Heiji? Where the heck did you go Aho?" as she screamed he angry query, she noticed a slight rustle in the bushes beside her "Heiji did you fall i-"

"Aho! I'm fine I just fell that's all. Jeez woman, do you have to scream whenever I fall down or something!" She could feel her blood boiling as her fist clenched

"Is it such a bad thing to care!" she roared angrily, frightening even herself with her immense volume. Then her voice fell to a hush "apparently I really am the Aho for caring about you" Silence fell between them, leaving only the sound of wind flowing the the grass and the trees.

Meanwhile, two very fearful high school students were crouched in a bush with the very unconscious Hattori Heiji.

"Oh thank God" one whispered

"Yeah" the other replied "I'm glad he smacked his head on the dirt and passed out for a minute or we would have been done for"

"I just hope he doesn't wake up too soon, or this whole escapade may become a catastrophic nightmare" As the two looked on warily at Kazuha, an equally worried Bakuyo laid on his belly, camouflaging himself within the long grass.

"What the heck do I say?" he thought frantically to himself "Kiyumi only told me to go that far, she didn't give any instruction after that. Oh no….." he had already been sweating, but now his perspiration had reached near grotesque levels. Just then he felt an arm line up next to his. It was Kiyumi, and she had army crawled over to him from a few yards away. She leaned over to his ear and whispered a few more lines. He nodded, having no time for argument, and looked back at his audience

"You're right, you really are the Aho" he said somberly, giving her a second to digest what he had said "because anyone with a brain could easily see that I care about you" Her eyes widened at the sound of his words. She was left in a state of disbelief, barely able to stay on her feet

"W…what is that supposed to mean?" she said, shaking in anticipation. It was now or never. She had waited for this moment for years and now, it was time to hear the truth.

"The truth is Kazuha…." Bakuyo stuttered. He didn't even really know this girl and yet the words were hard to say. For a brief moment he sympathized with Heiji before returning to the matter at hand "I….I love you". Once he had said the words, both Kazuha and Bakuyo were left astonished. Kazuha was breathless and dizzy, having dreamt of this day for so long. Bakuyo was more appalled at himself for having actually done what he just did. He felt horrible, and wrong, but it was too late to change things now. Silence fell on the two parties, as Kazuha awaited some kind of embrace from her now mutual love interest. After a few seconds, she became raving mad at his lack of enthusiasm

"You tell me something like that and then you can't even stand up and look at me!" she shrieked angrily. Her ranting was so loud, it amazingly jarred Heiji into consciousness.

Meanwhile, back behind the tall bush, two high school guys were now erratically looking in all different directions. Heiji was awake, and, in a few seconds he going to be seriously curious as to why he was dragged behind a bush by two fellow students. They two took one look at each other, and, in a moment of either sheer cowardess or complete genius they sprinted as fast as they could away from him. As he came to, Heiji rubbed his eyes and looked around, not fully able to process what was going on. That is, until he heard his voice

"Kazuha….I" Bakuyo had now officially run out of things to say, and his train of thought wasn't exactly helped when he noticed his two comrades sprinting full speed away from the scene. When he looked back at Kiyumi, she had a face of absolute horror. When Bakuyo turned to see what she was so petrified by, he too fell into shock. There he was, Hattori Heiji; on his feet and fuming with rage.

Meanwhile, Heiji had just awoken to find himself alone, behind a bush with a screaming headache. As he rubbed his head in confusion and physical agony, he scanned the area around, trying to put together where he was. As he slowly tried to regain his senses, he heard a quiet, tortured whisper to his right

"well…." He turned to face the speaker. It was Kazuha, red, puffy cheeks that were evident of future tears.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, unintentionally sounding harsh

"Heiji!" she yelled joyously as she flew over to him. She reached for his hand and, in an instant of pure, mindless bliss she interlocked their fingers and looked into his eyes.

"K-Kazuha." He said, stunned by her actions "what are you doing Aho! Why are you holding my hand like this? And what was I doing behind that bush?" She gazed deep into his eyes as hers eyes began to fill with remorseful tears

"Is this all just a joke to you Heiji?" she screamed forcefully as she turned and ran off.

Meanwhile, still lying in the safety of the long grass

"Kiyumi what are we going to do now?" Bakuyo asked sternly

"Look, let's just wait here until they leave. Oh, see, look there goes Toyama-chan now. As soon as Hattori-san runs after her, we'll just casually walk the opposite way" She smiled at him, fully confident in her plan

"You owe me for this" he whispered

"Really? Well what exactly do I owe you?"

Meanwhile, Heiji stood completely at a loss. He had no idea what had happened, where he was precisely or why she was so mad at him. All he knew was that he had to go chase her down figure out what was going on


	6. Strangely Natural

_Whether by rage or by determination, somehow Kazuha had managed to outrun Heiji all the way back to her house. When she arrived, she simply threw open the door, ran into her room and collapsed on her bed. About a half mile behind, a still puzzle Heiji jogged briskly, trying to catch up to her but having a difficult time staying out his own head._

"Why was she holding my hand like that anyway? Doesn't she know that's how people that l-l-like each other act?" He had been running circles in his own mind for about ten minutes, rewording the same questions and still receiving no answers "I mean really, is she trying to hit on me or something? Jeez that woman is insane!"

Meanwhile, back on the side of the biker trail

"Okay I think it's safe to leave" Kiyumi said triumphantly, hopping up off the ground. Bakuyo just grunted and followed suit. Soon they found themselves walking back towards the school

"So Bakuyo, what do I owe you?"

"Huh?" he asked hesitantly, trying to feign ignorance

"Don't play dumb, you told me back there that I owed you for this, so, what is it?" He smiled daftly back at her as his face was covered in a light red hue

"Well there was one thing I was gonna ask for…." He trailed of and broke eye contact, facing the other direction

"Oh come on, don't be so embarrassed; just spit it out." He started to sweat again, which was not pleasant considering how much he had already sweat

"Uh…well…I-I mean its just… okay look you're really cute would you go out with me?" he spewed out his request bluntly and loudly, leaving Kiyumi at a loss for the moment. She remained quiet, continuing to walk but much slower than before. Finally, after a few agonizing minutes, she turned back to him

"Sure" she mumbled. This quiet, almost fearful voice was nothing like the one she had used throughout the last half hour. He meditated on that for a moment. "Wow, I met her just thirty minutes ago, and now, here we are about to go on a date". He smiled to himself then looked back over to her. She looked at him and smiled back, blushing slightly.

Meanwhile, back at the Toyama house, a still distraught Heiji sits on the Toyama couch and waits for Kazuha to come down the stairs.

"Seriously, what the heck is goin' on? Why do I feel so funny? I can't even figure out what this feeling is, am I….nervous? No that can't be it, what about…..anxious? I think that might be it, but why? Why am I suddenly so anxious to see her? I mean sure, I want to know what's goin' on and what the heck happened to me, but I feel like there's a little more to this feeling." He could feel his heart beating five times faster than normal, barely allowing him to breathe. This might have been painful for him, except he hadn't been able to focus on anything but his hand the last twenty minutes. He could still feel her hand there, their fingers intertwined, locking together so perfectly. He remembered the warmth of her hand in his, and he….missed it. "Wait what?" he thought, baffled and alarmed by the thoughts that had burrowed their way into his subconscious "No no no no no no! That's not right! This has to be fluke or something. I mean really, it was just a stupid hand. It was just stupid Kazuha's stupid hand….." his irritation melted away as the sentiment continued to dominate his brain. No matter what defenses he put up to fight it, the thought still lingered, more prominently than anything else "I miss it". The thought kept ringing in his ears, giving him no choice but to acknowledge it. He continued to gaze at his, now seemingly lonelier, left hand. He looked away from it briefly, only to catch a glance at Kazuha's door. It was still closed and she was still crying. He could hear her just like he'd heard her since he got there. He stood up, an unmistakable resolve in his eyes, and he approached the stairs that led to her room. He took a deep breathe, clenched his hand into a fist and climbed the first step, which might as well have been a mountain.

Meanwhile, a flight of stairs away, Kazuha continued to cry just like she had since the moment she let go of his hand. She felt ashamed, repulsive, ugly, unwanted and most of, melancholy. "Why would he do that to me? I mean sure, he's kind of a jerk sometimes but he could not have really thought that was funny? What kind of joke was that? Idiot!" she cursed him angrily into her pillow, screaming violently and her tears showed little sign of subsiding. She flipped onto her back, needing air after all her screaming and crying had left her breathless. She took a moment to scan her room, noting how clean it was after she had finally decided to organize it a few days earlier. When her eyes reached her closet, she set them on a green evening gown that she hadn't seen there before. When she stood up and approached it, temporarily clearing her eyes, she found a note from her father attached to the hanger

_Kazuha, I bought you this. I think it will look lovely on you tonight for dinner. –Dad_

She smiled at the gesture her father had made. She did enjoy how the dress looked. She liked the color, a dark, almost forest green with a white trim along the bottom and along the straps. It was a spaghetti strap though, which she rarely wore. She resolved, nevertheless, to try it on. When all her school clothes were removed and she had slipped into the evening gown, she walked in front of her mirror wearily. When she saw herself, she was blown away. All the feelings of ugliness and inadequacy seemed unwarranted now, as she stood, awestruck by her own appearance. She became so focused on her reflection that she didn't even notice when a set of footsteps began to approach her room.

Meanwhile, at the front of the high school.

After he had asked her out, Kiyumi and Bakuyo had walked in almost complete silence. The only sound either one of them made was when Kiyumi let out a very light sneeze to which Bakuyo responded 'God bless you'. When they reached the front of the school, they turned to one another almost unwillingly.

"So….I guess I'll see you later Kiyumi-chan" he muttered as he started to walk off

"what time" she asked, almost inaudibly. Of course, Bakuyo had been praying she would ask that for the entire walk to the school

"Tonight, let's say, 6?"

"Sure. Will you pick me up?"

"Of course. Here's my number, message me your address" he said as he pulled a small piece of scratch paper out of his side pocket and a pen from his back pocket.

"Bye then" and she was off. Despite their apparent awkwardness, the interaction between them hadn't been all too uncomfortable. Tense, maybe, but strangely….natural.

Back at the Toyama house, Heiji had just made it to Kazuha's door and now stared at it anxiously

He lifted a hand to knock, but hesitated, and after a few seconds of indecision he lowered it. He thought hard about what to do. He considered her face and how broken she probably looked. He almost walked away based on that pretense alone. But he had to talk to her. He ducked his head and turned the knob on the door. He pushed the door open abruptly, almost throwing himself into her room. He hadn't fully expected it to be unlocked, so he had had pushed harder than he needed to, almost tripping over his own feet. When he gained his balance, he looked up and was immediately thrown off balance again. There she was, just like a princess. He had never seen her like this. He had thought about certain aspects of her appearance being kind of cute a few times, but he had quickly dismissed these thoughts as idiotic and nothing more. This was different though, she wasn't cute, or pretty, or hot or anything of that nature. She was beautiful and that's all there was to it. He could hardly find his legs at first, but when he did, he crept toward her as slowly and carefully as he possibly could. He could tell she had been crying, a lot. And it didn't appear as if she was finished either.

"Kazuha…" he barely whispered, practically to himself

"I know it doesn't look that nice on me" she strained herself to get the words out. She knew she was lying, but somewhere inside her she wanted to know if that's what he thought. Heiji paused for a moment, darting his eyes toward the floor. His face had been bright red since the moment he laid eyes on her, and he knew if he wanted to get a coherent statement out of his mouth he was going to have to avoid looking at her completely.

"I…" even with his head fully pointed at the ground, he still couldn't concentrate. Every time a thought crossed his mind it was immediately drowned out by "God she looks fantastic!" He tried to suppress this thought, thinking it too vulgar for the situation until, without any specific instruction, the words finally came out "You look amazing!" He screamed almost at the top of his lungs. She looked at him stunned, tears reforming in her eyes

"Heiji…" what should have been joy over his compliment quickly became anguish over the strain in his voice "why is it so hard for you to tell me that?" she cried harder as the words came out. Finally, he looked up at her, eyes completely glued to her. Even when she cried she looked like nothing he had ever seen. He put a lot of energy into ignoring her question, until she finally spoke

"This is stupid. Can you please get out so I can change?"

"No" he said sternly

"Pervert, you can't watch me change" she tried her best to giggle but it was hard with the tears that were still flooding out of her eyes

"Don't….don't take it off" he trailed off, striding closer to her. She was frozen in place by his demand, so his advances toward her went with virtually no reaction. She was abruptly shot back into reality when his hands took hold of her shoulders. She looked up and found him staring straight into her eyes, unwavering "You look perfect"

"W-What?" her body quaked with fear and anticipation until she felt his hand slide slowly down her arm into her hand. He weaved his fingers tightly within hers, and her body went still. At this point, Heiji could not have physically been any closer to her. She pushed her forehead onto his shoulder and they stood their quietly, enjoying the moment.

"Kazuha!" her eyes widened, as did Heiji's. It was as if they had been dosed in cold water upon waking up. They both turned and faced the door

"Uh…yes?"

"We're going to be late! We have to meet the Hattori's in twenty minutes and the restaurant is fifteen minutes away. Is Heiji ready?" He jumped back and sprinted down the stairs

"Uh no sir I need to get dressed!" he sprinted by him, grabbed his outfit and sprinted back up the stairs and into the bathroom. Mr. Toyama stared at the bathroom door inquisitively for a moment, then shrugged his shoulder and walked into the kitchen. Kazuha was still standing stiff in her room with her hand in the same place it was when Heiji's hand had left it. She took her left hand and gently clasped her right with it. It was still warm from his hand being there, and she could recall all the sensation from just a few moments ago.

"Aho! Let's go or we'll be late" Heiji screamed, still completely flustered as he sprinted down the stairs, clad in black slacks, a white t-shirt and what appeared to be a black, long-sleeved dress shirt. He was trying to throw the top of his outfit on as he ran stumbling down toward the kitchen. She smiled to herself, wiped her eyes, and walked down the stairs behind him.

"Come on you two, I have big news I need to announce. We need to hurry"

"News?" Kazuha asked

"Yes, that's what this dinner is all about. Now hurry, we don't to keep Heizo and Shizuka waiting" with that they all went out the door and piled into Mr. Toyama's car. As they drove away, Kazuha couldn't help but wonder what news he had that was so important. She had difficulty focusing, however, when she noticed a familiar hand reaffirming its hold on hers, causing her to blush madly. Neither of them looked away from their respective windows, but they did share a rather evident smile.


	7. News

_When they arrived at the restaurant Heiji and Kazuha released each other's hands for fear of ridicule from their parents. Once inside, they soon spotted the Hattori parents and made their way over to them. Once seated, they shared a momentary silence until Heizo chose to break it_

"Toyama, what's this about?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't play dumb, you asked us to a very nice restaurant to disclose some important news to us now let's have it" he open one of his eyes fully which was his usually indicator that he was serious

"Jeez Heizo you're always so impatient. Okay, the reason I asked all of you to come to dinner tonight was so I could tell you that we're moving to the U.S!" he exclaimed his news joyously much to the bewilderment and confusion of his guests.

"When did you decide this?" Shizuka asked with a degree of concern

"A few days ago. I have a friend who works with the F.B.I there and he wants me to come run an interference operation. He said my skills would be crucial in this task and he requested me personally." Heizo did not share in his friend's enthrallment and frankly, neither did anyone else.

"Have you thoroughly considered the ramifications of a decision like this? Your daughter only has another for four months of high school, are you sure its wise to uproot her now?"

"It'll be great!" he turned energetically to his daughter "you'll make new friends, see new places and there are a lot of great universities in the United States especially in New York where we'll be living" While her father smiled at her with genuine enthusiasm, anyone else at the table could clearly see she was about to cry. She clenched her eyes shut, trying not to make a spectacle of herself publicly, when from under the table she felt that familiar warmth on her hand. Although he was sitting across from her, he had still managed to find her hand and take hold of it. He stared intently at her, waiting for her to look up at him. When she did, the tears she held back came flowing out with explosive force. She bellowed out sorrowfully and sprinted away toward the bathroom.

Mr. Toyama sat completely shocked by his daughter's reaction. He followed her with his eyes until she was completely out of sight. He looked down at the table shamefully

"Is this….that upsetting to her?"

"Of course it is!" Heiji screamed passionately, rising from his seat "You're taking her away from everyone that she cares about! She doesn't belong in New York she belongs here!" _with me_ he thought to himself.

"Heiji!" His father said firmly "you will show Mr. Toyama the correct amount of respect" he glared down at his son forcefully until Heiji silently complied and sat back down. Heizo then turned his attention back to Mr. Toyama

"However, he does have a point. While the opportunity may be promising for you, you must consider the well-being and happiness of your daughter."

"I have. And we are going to America. We leave Monday at 4 a.m." with that, he rose to his feet, now glaring directly at Heizo, who had ceased looking at him. He walked briskly over toward the bathrooms. When he returned he had Kazuha by the arm. She cried and screamed as he pulled her away. She looked at Heiji as she left and they shared a moment of mutual agony before she was out the door.

As they drove home, Shizuka and Heizo shared their sentiments with one another involving Mr. Toyama's decision. Heiji heard little of this, however, because his mind was elsewhere. He sat staring out his window with an outstretched left hand resting on the seat next to him. It was lonely now, sitting by himself. He couldn't help but think of how Kazuha was handling this news. More importantly, he couldn't help but think of what he was going to say to her. He only had two days before they were going to leave. "How do I possibly condense what would have months or years or even a lifetime of happy memories into a weekend?" As he meditated on this conundrum, in a car not far away from there's a young teenage girl laid passed out in the back seat. There was evidence of a profuse amount of crying. Her eyes were still watery from residual tears left over from her crying spell. Her cheeks were flushed and her body lay curled up, evident of exhaustion. Kazuha had cried herself to sleep, which for the moment may have been the best thing for her. As she slept, her now frustrated and irresolute father considered the events that had just taken place. Then, he had what some might call an epiphany. "Of course, its so obvious now." He smirked as he once again looked back at his daughter. "Something happened between Heiji and Kazuha. It's the only explanation. They must have finally expanded their relationship into something beyond friendship." He smiled at the thought, picturing how happy she must have been. He, along the Hattoris, had been aware for some time of their apparent feelings for one another. "I'm sorry, Kazuha" he whispered gently toward the road in front of him, "but your timing couldn't have been any worse. This is what's best for you, even if it hurts you now." His voice was wary at this point, almost hesitant. When they arrived home, he picked her up, carried her to her bed and covered her in her blankets. He left her in her dress, seeing no reason to take it off. She did look beautiful in it, just as he knew she would. As he exited her room and flicked off her light switch, he looked back at her. She seemed more peaceful in her unconsciousness now than she had in the car. He smiled soberly as he shut the door

"I'm so sorry, Kazuha" and with that he shut the door and went to bed himself.

Heiji, now at home in his room, did not share in the peaceful rest his girlfriend was experiencing. In fact, it was quite the opposite. He found himself pacing incessantly around his room. His thoughts were expectantly dominated by her well-being. He imagined her crying into her pillow and it made him fume with rage. He knew he had to do something. He stopped pacing and looked mischievously at his window. A wide grin painted itself all over his face.

"Heizo?" He turned to his wife. They had both been laying awake in bed since they'd gotten home "I'm worried about Heiji"

"I am as well. The way he acted at the restaurant, that was different than his usual hot-headed attitude. He was more than upset, he was enraged"

"I agree. Do you think something happened between him and Kazuha?"

"I don't know. I think we should talk to him though. He needs to understand that this isn't something that can be fought. It's not his place to object to Toyama's decision." With that, he rose from the bed and approached Heiji's bedroom. When he opened the door he frowned in disappointment at the sight of his absence and an open window. As he shook his head in disapproval, Shizuka leaned against his shoulder

"Come now, Heizo you can't be too surprised by this? He is your son after all" Heizo acknowledged his wife as she smiled up at him. He placed a hand on her head and they walked back toward their bedroom.

"He'll be punished thoroughly when he gets home" Heizo said, with little sincerity

"How about no breakfast? That should prove punishment enough for him" Heizo grinned as they laid back down in bed. After a moment of silence they laughed heartily about the comment then turned out the light and went to sleep.

Back at the Toyama house, a breathless Heiji stood outside the house, staring at Kazuha's window. He had just run the expanse between their homes faster than he ever had before. Now he examined the tree that rested in front of her room. He felt around the trunk until he found a small indent. This was the indent he had always used to climb the tree and see her. Many a time he had visited her while she grounded(usually by some fault of his) or when she was too mad at him to let him in through the door. He leaned against the window, standing on a sturdy branch with one hand on the window for balance. When he peered in the window he saw no movement. The room was dark, until the moon appeared from behind the clouds. It was almost full, making it bright enough to illuminate her room to the point where he could see her sleeping figure in detail. He scanned her body, noticing she was still wearing the dress. The covers on her were scattered about, which made it seem as though she had been asleep for some time. He looked at her closed eyes which had quite evidently been filled with tears not too long ago. It saddened him for a moment, imaging her crying, but he brushed the thought off as he went on admiring her sleeping form. He remembered how great the dress had looked when he first saw it, and it still did. He smiled and wished her a good night's sleep as he descended from the tree. He took one last look at her room and made his way back home.

**~The Next Morning~**

"What the hell do you mean 'no breakfast'? You can't just starve me! This is ridiculous! I can't believe this is happening"

"Told you" Shizuka said smugly as they watched Heiji stomp angrily up to his room

"No wonder he's so foolish, he thinks with his stomache."

"He's a growing boy, what do you expect?" Heizo accepted her point as he stood meditatively staring at the stairs that led to Heiji's room. "Heizo?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" He kept his eyes facing forward, nodding subtly to his wife. With that he walked forward and ascended the stairs. He opened the door to his son's room

"Heiji, get dressed we're leaving."

"W-What are you talking about? Where are we going?"

"There's a case I'm needed at, and you're coming with me. It's in Tokyo so we need to get going as soon as possible." His son analyzed his expression momentarily before nodding in response and shuffling around his room for clothes. As he walked down the stairs, he was almost happy for the opportunity to not be there, to not be…near her. It was hard enough to think about her leaving. The pain would have been immeasurably greater if he had to see her. He couldn't handle it, at least not yet. He followed his father into the car, and they drove away speedily.

Meanwhile, a drowsy Kazuha dragged herself into the bathroom. She got undressed and flopped half-consciously into the shower. As the water slowly brought her to full awareness, she began to consider all the events of the previous day. How the best day had been completely ruined by her stupid father. It was at that thought that all the emotion came flooding back into her. The water continued to fall on her body and run down into the drain, as did her tears. But she composed herself, trying to focus on better things. She knew if she wanted to get through the day, she would have to be with Heiji. She smiled as she looked down at her right hand, closing it into a fist of determination. She turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. After a few moments of drying, she wrapped herself in a towel and locked eyes with her reflection in the bathroom mirror and smirked confidently

"Nothing's gonna ruin this weekend. Nothing"

* * *

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	8. Okasan Knows Best

_After feeling an overwhelming onset of determination, Kazuha walked briskly (understatement) to the Hattori residence. When she arrived there, she knocked forcefully on the door, expecting to see a certain tanned face man. Instead she was greeted by the matriarch of the home, Hattori Shizuka._

"Good morning Shizuka-sama, is Heiji here?" Shizuka looked down for a moment, which understandably worried Kazuha

"Uh…no actually his father requested his assistance on a case" Kazuha felt her heart shudder. 'How could he?' she heard a voice scream prominently in her head. 'He has to know how much I need to see him right now, and he just leaves without a word.' After what felt like a few minutes of watching Kazuha struggle internally with the news, Shizuka finally spoke "Kazuha-chan?"

"Huh?" she looked up at Shizuka, almost surprised by where she was and who was in front of her

"Are you okay?"

"Uh…yes Shizuka-sama I'm fine. Can you just tell him to call whenever he arrives home?" she visibly held back tears as she made her request

"Kazuha-chan, I think you should come in and have some tea, you seem troubled" She smiled invitingly, doing her best to silently encourage the seemingly broken girl that stood before her. Kazuha pondered the invitation momentarily before nodding in acceptance and walking into the house. Once inside, she avoided the concerned gaze of her pseudo-mother. When she arrived at the coffee table, she knelt before it and placed her hands in her lap.

"Would you like sugar with your tea, Kazuha-chan?"

"Yes please" After a few seconds, Shizuka appeared with two cups of tea. She took her place across from Kazuha at the table and placed a cup of tea in front of each of them. Kazuha received her cup and lightly sipped the contents.

"So my dear why is it you look so mournful? You look as if you've suffered a great loss?"

"How could I not?" Kazuha said in a comparatively raised voice "I mean, everything was going so well and now I'm being taken away from everything I know and love. It's just not fair!" Shizuka tried her best to present a calm and understanding front for the suffering girl

"Kazuha…I know it seems like a tragedy now bu-"

"It IS a tragedy! What good could possibly come of this!" she screamed. After a pause, she composed herself, taking a second to realize how inappropriate her outburst had been "Shizuka-sama I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have yelled like that" throughout her apology she glued her eyes to the cup on the table in front of her

"Kazuha there is no shame in expressing oneself. I don't blame you for being angry at the situation you've been put in. But you mustn't lose heart, anything worth having will still be here when you return home I promise" she smiled reassuringly and the girl as she blushed lightly at the thought.

"S-Shizuka-sama?"

"What is it dear?"

"Do you think Heiji will wait for me to return?" the questioned made both of them blush, one with embarrassment and the other with sheer excitement

"Why" she smiled, gazing at Kazuha inquisitively "has my son found a place in your heart?" the hue that Kazuha's face adopted at that point was comparable only to that a ripe cherry tomato.

"Uh….well, I mean…i-it might maybe have….sort of…."

"Kazuha-chan you beautiful girl!" Shizuka leapt across the table in an unorthodox fashion and wrapped her arms around the girl she'd always considered her daughter-in-law to be "You've fallen for my Heiji! I'm so relieved! There is no woman I would rather have marry my Heiji than you, Kazuha-chan!" Kazuha couldn't help but be flattered by the comment. After a fairly lengthy embrace, Shizuka finally retook her seat at the other side of the table. They sat silently for what seemed like a significant span of time with Shizuka's eyes never leaving the embarrassed girl's face.

"T-Truthfully, Shizuka-sama, I fell for him a long time ago" Kazuha held her breath in anticipation, awaiting another large-scale projection of affection from the woman before. But instead, she remained completely calm and only smirked slightly at the comment

"Silly girl" she said condescendingly "of course you did" 'Jeez' Kazuha thought to herself 'at least now I understand why Heiji thinks so highly of himself'. "I've known this for quite some time"

"What are you talking about?" Kazuha seemed almost offended by the statement "How could have possibly know?"

"I'm his mother, and I've known you long enough to consider you my daughter. You think I wouldn't notice the obvious affection you share for one another?" Despite her confusion at the thought of his mother knowing about her very personal feelings, she couldn't help but be mentally preoccupied with a particular word she used: shared.

"Wait Shizuka-sama, did you say _shared_?" Shizuka chuckled to herself almost mockingly of Kazuha's obliviousness.

"Let me tell you a little story

**~Flashback~**

_A fourteen year old Heiji stomps angrily through the front of his house. The nature of his entrance startles his parents who are currently sharing a peaceful cup of tea in the living room_

"Heiji!" Heizo said forcefully, commanding his son's immediate attention "What's the meaning of this disrespectful entrance?"

"Sorry father, it's just been a frustrating night" he grimaced at the recollection of the events that had taken place and turned to go to his room

"Stop right there Heiji" Shizuka said, sternly yet softly. He turned, cringing at the thought of what he knew she was already going to say "Tell us what happened". Heiji looked toward his father for verification of his mother's request

"Heiji, I believe your mother asked you to do something. Do not disrespect her wishes" Heiji gulped hard, trying to hide his obvious discomfort.

"Is it about the dance?" Shizuka asked, staring piercingly at her son. He turned away, averting his eyes toward the nearest wall

"Okay okay, this is what happened. We got to the dance, and well, we danced. The fast songs were great, we both got lost in the mood of the room and just danced. I usually don't feel comfortable dancing but for some reason it was okay." He blushed faintly as he described his comfort with Kazuha

"Of course you were comfortable with her, you've known her since you were kids" Shizuka said, trying to appear oblivious to what she knew he was feeling

"Well anyway, everything was good until we got to one of those really slow songs. I didn't want to dance but before I had time to object that Aho already had me by the hand and we were practically running to the middle of the dance floor." The blush that had momentarily left his face now returned with a vengeance

"And?" Shizuka said only to antagonize him

"I'm getting to it. So, we're out there dancing and she seems really weird so I ask her she's acting so strangely. She says she has no idea what I'm talking about and puts her head back down. So we continue dancing quietly until the song ends. When it does, she looks really sad. I ask her why and she asks me if I enjoyed dancing with her."

"And what did you say Heiji?" Heizo asked, trying hard not to reveal any hint of interest in his son's story

"I…I said that it was awkward" The red on his face intensified to an almost unhealthy level. He cursed himself quietly, mentally kicking himself

"So, then what happened?"

"She slapped me and left. I couldn't tell from behind but it seemed like she was crying. I tried to find her but apparently she called for a ride and left before I had a chance to."

"Well…" Shizuka whispered

"Well what ka-chan?"

"Was it?" Heiji broke the very brief eye contact he had with his mother, once again darting his eyes toward the wall

"Was it what?"

"Awkward, was the dance awkward?" Having only momentarily regained the natural color in his face, Heiji once again took on a shade of crimson that he tried to keep invisible from his parents.

"Well yeah obviously I mean how am I supposed to feel comfortable with that Aho standing so close to me? She had her hands on my shoulders and her body was only a few inches away from mine" As he finished speaking, his parents only stared intently at his face, silently challenging the validity of his statement

"Son" Heizo said calmly, crossing his arms and turning his head toward the table "Do you think you can lie to me?" With that, Heiji suddenly felt his thoughts crash around him. He had denied the truth even to himself. As it turned out, his father knew his thoughts better than he did

"Well…" he slowly moved his head upward, facing his parents "I…." he struggled to finish his sentence, stumbling over his own thoughts "I don't know okay!" he screamed, turning quickly and rushing up the stairs to his room before his parents had any time to object.

**~End Flashback~**

"That, Kazuha-chan, is when I knew the affection you had for one another was mutual. Even if he did delude himself, I knew he considered you more than just a friend" Kazuha smiled uncontrollably at what she said.

"I remember that night" she said somberly "I hid in the boy's bathroom because i knew he would only search the girl's. I stayed there and cried for a while, which sent almost every guy running before they even made it to the stalls. By the time i was finally ready to come out, almost everyone had left, including Heiji" Kazuha looked into her now empty cup, saddened by the memory.

"Kazuha, listen to me." Her voice employed a more serious inflection than it had throughout their conversation "he won't let you go that easily, I promise" she smiled confidently at Kazuha, who responded positively to the encouragement

"You're right, especially now. I know he cares enough about me to work around this. Thank you…." She thought carefully about her next words "can I call you….okasan?" Shizuka shed a tear which gracefully rolled down her cheek

"Of course you can, Kazuha" They both smiled as they rose from the table. When Kazuha looked at the clock on their wall, she realized nearly two hours had passed since her arrival

"I should probably go, I have a few errands to run" As she made her way to the door, Shizuka lightly grasped her arms. Kazuha turned, slightly alarmed

"Kazuha" Shizuka said firmly "What did you mean by 'especially now'? Did something happen between you two?" Kazuha's cheek's flushed at the query as she jerked her head toward the door

"Okasan, I really shoud go, I have a lot of-"

"Kazuha" Shizuka now set a piercing glare on her, causing her to shudder under the immense pressure of her eyes

"Okay! Look we…we had a moment and he held my hand"

"Kazuha that's so romantic! Oh my you two are going to have such beautiful kids! I can just picture them now, I bet you have at least three maybe even four!"

_As Shizuka continued on, raving about which attributes the children would take from each parent and how soon she should begin making wedding arrangements, Kazuha couldn't help but wonder how Heiji was and when he would be home. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, the two Hattori men strolled along a main street in Tokyo_

"Dad, where is this case exactly, we've been walking for nearly twenty minutes" Heiji had become increasingly impatient with every inquiry that went without a response.

"Heiji, compose yourself. We're not here to solve a case. The truth is, as of right now I'm testing you" Heiji glared at his father fiercely as Heizo continued to stare forward without any visible change in emotion

"What the hell are you talking about 'testing me'? What kind of test?"

"It's a test of character, now come with me we have some things we need to accomplish" Heiji followed his father in a disgruntled fashion, mumbling obscenities to himself. 'Okay Heiji' Heizo thought to himself 'it's time to see what kind of man you've become'


	9. Otosan Knows Best

_As Heiji followed his father, continuing to grumble angrily to himself, Heizo arrived at the destination he had chosen the previous night_

**~Flashback~ **

"Shizuka I think I can help Heiji" Heizo said straightforwardly as he turned toward his wife who laid in their bed next to him

"Really?" she asked expressing little if any surprise at the notion

"Yes. I'll take him to Tokyo with me tomorrow"

"Tokyo?"

"Mmhm" he nodded confidently "If I'm to allow our son to accompany Toyama-chan and her father to America, I will need to be sure of his character" Shizuka stared at her husband in what was now genuine surprise. She had considered maybe suggesting that he go there for the summer after his graduation or something to that degree, but never had the thought of him moving there with them. The evermore surprising part of all this was that it was her husband, the unemotional, harsh father that had suggested it

"Heizo dear are you sure about this?" he looked away from his wife and focused intently on their bedroom door

"If his future happiness is with that girl then he must follow her wherever she may go"

"Hezio" Shizuka was touched by his display of affection for his son. After a few moments, however, her adoration turned to irritation as her face turned a light shade of red "When was the last time you ever that romantic with me huh?" she shrieked, jarring Heizo out of his position on the bed. She glared at the side of his side, trying to her hardest to set him ablaze with her eyes

"A-hem...well anyway" he coughed trying hurriedly to change the subject "I'll be taking him to Tokyo in the morning" he spoke curtly and quickly rolled over, trying to elude his wife's forceful gaze. After a second she gave up and relaxed once again

"One question Heizo, why Tokyo?"

"There's a sakura orchard there that I know of. Its beauty is said to inspire revelations relating to those one loves. I want to see the sort of revelation he will have"

"Maybe you should get a revelation too" she teased as she rolled over to go to sleep. As she shut her eyes she whispered calmly "maybe I'll have a chat with Kazuha-chan tomorrow. After all, she is bound to come over looking for Heiji". With a grunt of agreement, the two wandered off to sleep

**~End Flashback~ **

Heizo maintained a calculated expression as he took in the expanse of trees, Heiji, who had all but forgotten his father was even there due to his intense concentration on deducing what his father was planning, slammed head first into this back. His father turned around and appeared agitated

"Heiji!" he barked, startling the seventeen year old into an upright posture. "Follow me" Heizo then proceeded to enter the orchard. Once he and his son were submersed in the extensive forest, Heizo began turning sharply and abruptly. Heiji had been paying his father little mind, for he was once again wrapped up in his own thoughts. When he finally looked up to ask where they were going, his father was no where to be found.

"Otosan!" Heiji screamed to no avail. His father had flat out left him there. He used his thumb and index finger to pinch the bridge of his nose as he stood there in frustration. "Damn you dad, you probably planned this….no, you definitely planned this". As Heiji stood lost in the woods, Heizo sat comfortably in a patio chair near the entrance of the orchard, smiling contently.

"I guess I should find my way out of here. Apparently this was the 'test' I was so worked up over" he sighed heavily as he began to sift through the plethora of trees, which varied in width, height and vicinity from one another. He continued to guide himself out of the seemingly endless forest until he came to a clearing. The clearing was large enough that it wasn't covered by the shade of the trees which allowed golden rays of sunlight to pour into it. The sakura blossoms fell gently from the trees that surrounded the clearing. As the blossoms fell they were illuminated by the sun's light. When he looked down, he noticed that the blossoms had blotched the ground around him, mixing in with the radiant green grass. He smiled as he reached for the cell phone buried in his pocket "Kazuha'll enjoy something pretty like this" he said aloud with the knowledge that there was no one around to hear him. He pointed the camera's lens at the landscape and snapped the photo. He saved the picture, grinning proudly to himself as he imagined all the praise she would give him for his thoughtfulness. It was then that all the thoughts he had so masterfully suppressed came rushing back to him. She was leaving. She was leaving in two days. She was leaving…and he had to do something about it. He reached for his omamori and clutched it tightly, then he engaged in a full sprint to the exit of the orchard. As he ran, he tried to consider hypothetical courses of action. 'Kidnap her? Hide her until Toyama leaves? No that wouldn't work he's still a member of the police force and he would kill me.' He continued running, having to dodge tree limbs and other obstacles on the ground 'I could always just visit her often…no I don't have the money to fly to and from New York that often'. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to Heiji, he reached the exit of the maze he was in. As he exited, the force from his body pulled a handful of blossoms off of their respective branches and sent them gliding past Heiji, who had now come to a complete stop. As they petals fell delicately around him, he fixed his eyes on his father, who sat calmly at the place they had entered. As he approached his father, he tried his best to catch his breath

"Dad…dad hold on….I…I need to go home" Heizo opened one eye at the statement

"Home? Why?" He asked, trying his best to appear cold as ever

"Because….I need to talk to Kazuha" Heiji had almost completely calmed his breathing down

"Hmm….I see. What is it you need to tell her?" Heizo glared at his son, judging his every movement and his every word

"I need to tell her" he paused momentarily, taking a more confident pose in front of his father "that I'm going to America with her" Heiji looked bewildered as Heizo grinned joyously at him. He had found the character within his son that he had hoped for, and now he had complete confidence in him not just as his son, but as a man

"Yes, my son I suppose you are" he said coolly as he walked away. Heiji's face lit up at the notion of his father's acceptance. He sped up to catch him and took his place walking beside him. They both walked toward the car, pleased with the present but apprehensive about the future.


	10. One Person That Could Make Her Smile

Kazuha hummed happily to herself as she prepared her room for departure. She had decided to spend the whole day packing and preparing so she could devote Sunday to goodbyes. Though she hadn't fully embraced her relocation, the talk she had with Shizuka had helped her to cope with it. She had almost completed packing her room when she heard a light knock on her door. She put down the box she was packing and opened the door, revealing her father.

"Otosan you should be at work" she said coldly

"I just turned in my letter of resignation. Kazuha, can I talk to you?" he asked, approaching her cautiously, showing signs of genuine paternal concern.

"Okay" she replied curtly "What is it?" she had done a good job of suppressing the anger she felt toward her father up until this point. Now she felt her rage and frustration returning as her father drew nearer.

"Kazuha, you have to understand, this is a great opportunity for us, both of us. I know the next few months will be hard for you, but once you basic education is complete you can go to any of the wonderful universities the United States has to offer" Kazuha couldn't help but cringe at her father, who stood before her completely oblivious to the root of her spurn toward him. Much like Heiji, her father had little if any comprehension of her feelings.

"This is about the school's dad" she whimpered in a confusing mix of both agitation and sorrow

"It's that Hattori boy isn't it? He's the reason you're so…" he trailed off as he noticed his sweet daughter's eyes go from fiery with rage to watery with tears. Kazuha…" he whispered shamefully to himself

"Last night…"she started somberly, holding back the tears that longed to flow out of her eyes "right before you arrived home…Heiji saw me in my new dress and said I was beautiful" her voiced cracked as she reiterated his comment "He even held my hand. I had waited so long for him…." The tears she had tried so hard to conceal now found their rightful place, streaming along her cheeks "to love me the way I loved him. And now, after all this time he finally feels that way for me and we're going to be separated by thousands of miles" she could barely finish her sentence. She took a few large strides away from her father after that and faced out her window. He stood there, shocked by her words and shattered by her tears. There was nothing he could say or do that would make her feel any better, and he knew it. He turned and walked slowly toward the doorway. As he exited her room, he took one last glance at his daughter and muttered a sincere apology to himself. He was greatly disturbed by his inability to help his daughter in any way. He knew that there was only one person that could make her smile again. That person, that tan skinned, hot-headed detective was currently pulling up in front in front of his house. He had just returned from an eye opening trip to Tokyo that surprisingly enough did not involve the miniaturized Kudo Shinichi or his girlfriend Mouri Ran.

"Okasan!" he yelled authoritatively. Shizuka appeared timidly from out of the kitchen

"Nani?" she asked shyly, in awe of her son's increasingly mature bravado

"Okasan, has Kazuha been here?"

"Oh yes, she stopped by a few hours ago. We had tea and I told her about the time you came home from the dance with her, singing praises of her beauty and how you enjoyed her _closeness_" she grinned mischievously as her son's "manliness" melted away and was replaced by total embarrassment

"We'll talk about THAT later, but right now, I need to know where she is"

"Well she said she had some errands to run, but that was quite some time ago so she's most likely at home now" As she finished speaking she could only watch as her son turned and ran out the door. As he exited in a flurry of emotion, his father stopped him abruptly with a firm hand to his chest

"Heiji!" she barked sternly, sounding almost angry at him. Heiji did not reply, he only looked up at his father fearfully. Heizo, after just a few seconds of standoffish glaring smiled and reached a hand into his chest pocket

"Take your bike" he said, tossing the keys to his son "it will be much faster"

"How did you…"

"It's always good to be prepared" Heizo said, beaming down at his son. Heiji, in a gesture almost foreign to the Hattori men, wrapped his arms around his father and embraced him. His father faltered for a moment in confusion before placing a hand lightly on his son's head. "You had best hurry" Heizo said firmly. Heiji quickly broke their hug, and, with a determined grin ran toward the bike, jumped on and sped off.

"He forgot his helmet" Shizuka said with a tinge of sarcastic concern in her voice as she walked from the doorway toward her husband. Heizo let out the smallest evidences of a laugh as Shizuka placed an arm around his torso from the side and squeezed him. She faced the road and they both watched as their son raced toward what meant most to him, smiling proudly. As he disappeared, Shizuka released him and returned to the house. As Heizo entered behind her she asked

"How'd it go?"

"He has matured greatly despite is still evident hot-headedness. I think they will do well for one another. He needs her, more than he knows I believe." Shizuka smirked condescendingly

"Just like you need me more than you know?" she awaited his reply but received none as he had already made his way up the stairs to there bedroom. She shook her head and laughed as she followed him.


	11. The Burned House & Heiji's Shame

As Kazuha stared out her window with now dry tears staining the sides of her face, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of peace. It was as if her intuition had told her everything would be resolved soon. As she pondered this new found solemnity, she began to hear small echoes from down her street. The tones were unmistakable to her ear, as she had heard them a thousand times before. She smiled giddily as she flew down the stairs and flung open the door. The sounds now grew even louder, becoming more distinct with every passing second. Finally, with a roar Heiji and his motorcycle came into view. Kazuha stood in the doorway, amorous and longing for his arrival. As he grew closer she felt her heart jump out of her chest. Finally after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Heiji finally arrived in front of her house, peeling out and coming to a stop just a few feet away from her. He gave her a confident smile that was trademark of him and beckoned her to jump on the back of the bike. Without any hesitation she leapt onto the vehicle and wrapped her arms around his waist. She gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek and he once again sped off in the direction he had come. Meanwhile, Mr. Toyama sat calmly inside the house, sipping a cup of tea. He wasn't the least bit worried, for over the years he too had become acquainted with the uproarious noise Heiji's motorcycle made.

As they rode into the city, Kazuha pressed her cheek to his and asked

"Where are you taking me?" Heiji smiled confidently, keeping his eyes glued to the rode

"It's a surprise" he said curtly, leaving no room for rebuttal. Kazuha accepted his reply and relaxed. She was enjoying the ride itself, feeling the wind toss her ponytail in every direction and her body sharing warmth with the one in front of her. All to soon, however, the bike came to a stop.

"Are we here?" she asked rhetorically, confused by the location he had chosen

"Yep. Hop off there's something I want to show you" As they got off the motorcycle, Kazuha was taken back by where they were entering. She stood still for a moment, thoroughly analyzing the building she was about to enter. It was a residential building, most likely a large estate. Well, it used to be. There was just enough sunlight left to tell that the building had been caught on fire. The shutters, walls, roof panels and even the grass that surrounded the structure were all charred and black. Heiji allowed her a few seconds to look in astonishment before finally taking her hand and leading her through the front door. As they entered, the interior of the house was even more eerie than the exterior. It was evident that there had been a family living in this place. There were remnants of portraits, furniture and even what appeared to be a kitchen table. From the corner of her eye she could see a few spiders scamper along the walls. She cringed and clasped Heiji's hand all the tighter. Heiji paused when he felt this and blushed lightly before finally continuing on. They approached a staircase, which appeared aged and brittle

"A-a-are we actually going to walk up those?" Kazuha inquired fearfully

"Of course Aho how else would we get to the top?" He let out a reserved chuckle as she punched him lightly on the arm. He took the first step, feeling the wood sink beneath his foot as it let out a prominent screech. He shut his eyes tightly, praying with all of his might that he wouldn't fall through the floor. After the first stair was done, he regained his confidence and continued upward, pulling his still hesitant girlfriend along behind him. When they finally reached the top of the stairs, he smiled reassuringly at her

"See, what were you worried about?"

"Aho! Don't lie and say you weren't scared that those stairs might break under our weight"

"Of course I wasn't, what kind of detective would I be if I was?"

"Hmph!" she snorted purposely in his direction "What are we doing her anyway?"

"Do you remember the fire that happened here about four years ago?" he asked sternly as he continued to pull her along

"Wait, do you mean the one that the police thought was just an accidental house fire but then said it was arson ?"

"Exactly. Luckily the mother, father and two children were able to escape without any injury, but all of their possessions were lost. When the mother and father were interviewed, they showed no signs of remorse or anger. When asked why, the mother simply said 'the only treasures we value made it safely out of the house'. That day I decided that I would make it my life goal to solve the mystery of what happened that day" as he said this they entered a room at the end of the upstairs hallway. It was pitch black until Heiji took a match from his pocket, struck it and lit a candle that hung from the wall. Suddenly the room was illuminated and a few newspapers could be seen scattered on the floor.

"Heiji…" Kazuha had no idea what to think of the situation. At first glance it seemed a little…strange

"For a year or so after the incident, I came here often and scoured the house, trying to find evidence that could lead to the capture of that arsonist." Kazuha listened intently as Heiji went on, telling his story all the while mesmerized by the newspapers that were scattered on the floor. "After a year or so, I gave up, since I had searched every inch of the premises"

"But Heiji, didn't they find that arsonist?"

"Yes, two years after the incident, a year after I had stopped investigating they found him." Kazuha looked at him, thoroughly mystified by his story and unsure of its relevance

"So…." she paused, shooting her eyes shamefully at the floor "why are we here then" Heiji to a deep breath and allowed a fairly large lapse of time to pass before answering her

"I brought you here because I always viewed this as my first and greatest failure as a detective. This place has also proved useful in humbling me. Whenever I feel overwhelmed by my success or popularity I would simply return here and bask in the shame this place represents to me" He stopped talking briefly, giving Kazuha time to notice his expression. Despite the dim lighting around his face, she could clearly see the frustration he exhibited

"Heiji, you can't feel too ashamed. Even you aren't prefect" 'despite how much your mother may disagree' she thought

"That's not why I brought you here though" Kazuha shuttered as he said this, shocked by his vulnerable tone "I brought here because I had always thought this was my first and most embarrassing failure as a detective. But the truth is," his voice softened as he turned toward her, locking his eyes with hers and causing a steady blush to come over her face " the first and most shameful mistake I made as a detective was not noticing you by my side all these years. Even back then you were still beside me through everything. Every case, every school day and every time I needed you" She began to tear up as he finished his speech with an affectionate smile. She reached out and hugged him, squeezing his torso as tightly as she could, allowing small, joyful tears to run down her face. They stayed like that for a few minutes until Heiji eased his grip on her and took a seat against the wall. She followed suit, sitting next to him and leaning her head onto his shoulder.

"Heiji, there's something I need to tell you" she whispered hesitantly, shakiness evident in her voice "I…I'm okay with leaving now" she spoke slowly, allowing every word to burn deep into Heiji's brain

"But Kazuha I-"

"Stop" she said quickly, cutting him off before he could object "I know it may be hard now, but I know that we'll be okay. I was worried at first, but I was reassured earlier today, and now I know that there's nothing to fear" Heiji stared blankly at her in disbelief. Any thoughts or theories that had been on his mind were now muted and replaced by pure, undeniable silence which filled the room. As he gazed into her eyes dumbfounded, she smiled reassuringly "Besides, if Ran-chan can wait as long as she had for that Kudo-kun, then I should be able to manage." The smile she made brought Heiji back to reality and filled him with the certainty that she had spoken of.

"You're right…" he said, trying to appear positive "besides, it'll only be a few months and then I'll come see you for summer vacation". She beamed back at him and retook her position leaning against him. They both let out a sigh of fabricated relief. The fact remained, a few months was a long time and they were not looking forward to it. After remaining in that position speechless for an hour or so, they heard the faint sound of the candle sputtering out. They looked up and watched as its wick ended and darkness engulfed the room. Kazuha panicked initially, squeezing Heiji tightly. He grinned heartily, unable to contain his amusement at the sight of her terror.

"Its not funny! Can we just go now" her voice was once again very shaky. He abruptly swung her up into his arms, and, without any breath of consent carried down the fragile stairs and through the door of the house. Once outside, he set her gently on the ground, unaware of the luminous red flush that had sprawled out across her face. She quickly turned her head away to avoid him noticing her embarrassment and ran toward the motorcycle. He ran after her, arriving at the vehicle at about the same time she did. They both jumped on and made their way back home. When they arrived at Kazuha's house, Heiji could hear her sigh against his back before hopping of the motorcycle.

"Thank you, Heiji" she said bashfully, clasping her hands behind her back. She gave him a gave him a grateful smile and turned to enter her house

"Aho!" he said arrogantly. She spun around, agitated by his uncanny ability to ruin prefect moments

"Don't 'Aho' me Aho!" she retorted obnoxiously

"I didn't say I was done with you yet, its only nine o'clock!"

"Then why did you stop in front of my house Aho!"

"Because I was going to come in and help you with your packing!" She jerked her head around, facing away from him

"Well fine then come on we don't have all night ya' know?" she chuckled as he walked his bike over to their driveway. Once he had parked the bike, he followed her inside, arms crossed and face scrunched angrily. When they arrived at her room, he noticed immediately that her room was almost completely bare. The decorations, mementos and knick-knacks that had made her room familiar were gone. All that was left were a few packed boxes, an empty dresser and some blank shelves on the walls.

"It seems like you did everything already" he said mischievously, looking over at her as she closed the door

"Oh, it seems I did. I had totally forgotten" she grinned tantalizingly, strutting shyly yet sensually toward him. When she reached him, they stood toe-to-toe, gazing into one another's eyes. Silence befell the room until finally, with one audacious and brash motion, Kazuha leaned into him, rising to her tippy-toes and bringing their lips to contact. They both jumped at first, but after just one or two seconds they were comfortable enough to wrap their arms around each other. They basked in the moment of pure bliss, pushing everything out of their minds. The next day didn't matter, the next few months didn't matter, nothing mattered. Just as it seemed as if the whole world could have melted beneath their feet, they were both yanked harshly back into reality by the smallest creak of a floor board. They both shot their eyes toward the door, which was now cracked open by the tiniest fraction. Kazuha's face glowed red with embarrassment and fury

"O-to-san!" she screamed violently, startling Heiji and striking fear into the heart of her father, who hesitated before revealing himself. He opened the door slowly, peeking his eyes around the corner first to survey the damage he had done. He raised his hands up in surrender, smiling faintly showing obvious signs of fear.

"Kazuha sweetheart I didn't know you were home"

"Liar!" she shrieked viciously "You were spying on us!" Toyama, scared for his life, rendered no reply and just sheepishly exited the room. Kazuha took a deep breath and calmed herself down. The, she turned back to Heiji who had patiently been waiting for her attention

"Its late, I should go" She looked down at her feet with a disheartened expression

"I guess so" she said half-heartedly

"Don't worry, I'll be back tomorrow" he declared confidently, trying his best to lift her spirits "Besides, tomorrow is your last day in Osaka so we have a lot of places to visit. It'll be a long day so you'll need to rest up" he smiled at her, lifting her chin to see her eyes. She smiled back and nodded in compliance. He bent his head down and kissed her passionately, taking plenty of time to enjoy it. After they kissed, they smiled contently at one another and he walked out of her room. She moved to the window and waved to him as he left the house, receiving a wave back. As he drove off, she felt her heart flutter and she slumped to the ground. Despite the great day it had been, she couldn't help but wince at the Heiji's words which repeated over and over in her mind 'tomorrow is you last day in Osaka'. She stood up, wiping a small tear from under her eye and walked downstairs to the mat she was to sleep on. Without any thought of hygiene of preparation, she fell face first into her pillow and passed on into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, back at the Hattori Residence

"Oh Heiji, how'd it go?" Shizuka asked, unable to contain her excitement

"She's leaving…" he paused, ducking his head shamefully "and I'm staying". Shizuka looked over to her husband whose expression had not changed.

"Heizo, aren't you surprised at all by this?"

"Of course not, I knew Toyama-chan would object to him leaving" he said straightly, continuing to face forward

"I didn't ask" Heizo's eyes opened as he looked over at his son in what appeared to be surprise.

"Heiji, why not?" Shizuka asked compassionately

"Before I had a chance to, she told me that she was confident that we would be okay if she left. The way she said it made it seem undeniably true to me" his expression still exhibited a degree of shame

"She's right" Heizo said, having regained his composure (which, comparatively speaking had been lost momentarily). Heiji looked at his father, searching for the confidence that he possessed which apparently was rather weak in himself. "Obviously your devotion is not lacking, so these months apart should be easily traversed" Heiji felt a slight tinge of confidence resound within him as he straightened up his posture and took a deep breath

"You're right! I'm Hattori Heiji after all; I can tackle any mystery and solve any problem!" Shizuka faked a smile as best she could, trying not to dampen her son's spirits while Heizo simply shook his head in embarrassment. Heiji left his parents and walked up to his room with a large grin across his face. Yet, as he laid down on his bed he felt his smile fade away. He could only think of Kazuha's room, barren of any item that identified it as hers. He felt the soft material of his bed on his back which only further reminded him of the unsettling truth: Kazuha was leaving in two days, and he was not.


	12. It Was as He Said

_The next day was just as Heiji had predicted it would be, long. The day was not without its fun and enjoyment but it was definitely an arduous day. Ran and Conan came from Tokyo to spend the day with them, sending Kogoro's regards. He was apparently 'busy' so he had elected to stay in Tokyo. The three and half teenagers spent their day sightseeing, trying to visit as many Osaka landmarks as possible. They first visited Osaka Castle, then the recently completed Police Precinct followed by an amusement park that Kazuha recommended. Despite Heiji instinctive opposition to the idea, he kept quiet for Kazuha's sake. By the time they were done at the amusement park it was nearing sunset and they hadn't eaten since breakfast. Thanks to much prodding from Heiji they elected to eat at the okonamiyaki restaurant Heiji had recommended in the past._

"Conan-kun you're gonna love this okonamiyaki! It's the best in Osaka!" Kazuha said enthusiastically

"More like the best in Japan!" Heiji yelled, thoroughly overshadowing Kazuha's excitement

"Hattori-kun isn't that a little…well, dramatic?" Ran said hesitantly, not wanting to push him into any more high volume ranting

"Not at all Ran-chan, he's completely right" Kazuha insisted, earning her a grateful glance from the tan detective seated next to her. 'This is not normal at all' Ran and Conan thought, unknowingly in unison 'they never agree, ever.'

"Ran-neechan, I need to use the bathroom!" Conan said cheerfully, having learned to very effectively masque his adult intellect with childish mannerisms

"Okay Conan-kun, but don't take to long, the okonamiyaki should be ready soon"

"Hai!" And with that, he walked off happily to the bathroom. Once he entered, however, his face became suspicious and deathly serious "I have to figure what's going with Hattori and Toyama-chan, they're acting very strange." After confirming his own intentions audibly, he reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He clicked one of the speed dials on it and lifted the phone to his ear. Meanwhile, back at the table where Ran, Heiji and Kazuha were talking, Ran had become uncomfortable with the vibe her two friends were emitting. This wasn't the usually repressed love/romantic tension that Ran had become so familiar with. This was something completely different; this was more like a mutual affection. As she continued to ponder the change in their relationship dynamic, Heiji phone began to ring. He looked and looked at the caller I.D mystified

"Kudo?" Ran's thought was suddenly broken when she heard the name

"What?" The relationship between her two friends quickly fell to the way side as her own personal life was brought up. "Shinichi called you? He hasn't called me in two weeks! Let me see the phone!" Heiji quickly jumped out of his seat and out of range of Ran's hands

"Sorry I gotta take this, I'll remind him to call you" he smiled fearfully as Ran's fist struck the table angrily, shaking the drinks they had placed on it along with the floor beneath it. Heiji put the phone up to his ear and walked outside the restaurant "What's this about Kudo? Are you calling me from the bathroom?"

"Oh no, Hattori, I'm asking the questions. What happened between you and Kazuha?" Conan was now curled up on a toilet in one of the stalls. His knees were pressed to his chin and his eyes were focused on the view of the door he had from his position.

"W-What are you talking about Kudo?" Heiji's voiced was shaky and obviously insincere

"You think you can fool me? You as a detective should realize how obvious you two are. Now, tell me what's going on."

"Okay look it's not a nig deal, we may have…kissed. But only once or twice so it's nothing to get all excited about" Conan sat red faced, mouth agape in disbelief

"So…so you're….going o-out now?"

"Somethin like that. Yeah, I guess we are" Heiji was amazed by how comfortable he felt saying the words. Conan was left completely speechless, no retort, no congratulations, just silence. After a few moments of just breathing noises being heard from both sides, Heiji finally elected to end the conversation "Well, if that's all I'm gonna return to the table, the food's probably cold now thanks to you." With that he abruptly hung up the phone. When Heiji returned to his seat, the girls had of course continued to chat, even despite the fact that the food had already arrived

"So" Ran said, with a sinister grin "What did that jerk want?" Her eyes were fierce and her fists were clenched under the table. Needless to say, Heiji was uncomfortable

"Ran-chan" Kazuha said smiling reassuringly "It was most likely something boring about that case he's working on. Don't worry about it, if it was a personal call he would have called you" Ran's relaxed her fists and took to eating her okonamiyaki. Heiji gave a relieved sigh and for the second time in the last ten minutes gave his girlfriend a grateful glance. Kazuha smiled back and continued to eat. Meanwhile, still curled up on a toilet seat, Conan stared blankly at the door to the stall in front of him. He was greatly perturbed by the development in his friend's life. 'I'm happy for Hattori, really, but it really is unfair. Ran and I are forced to continue on being miserable while they get to spend all the time they want together.' He pulled his body in tighter, trying to release some of the anger he felt. 'I hate this. I hate this body, I hate everything that's happened to me and I hate that Ran has to cry over me. Every night I watch her, staring out that damn window praying silently to herself as if no one's watching. I'm always watching Ran, you have to believe me, I'm always watching'. With that thought, he took a deep breath and hopped down from where he had been sitting. He tried his best to manufacture a smile, but as soon as he exited the bathroom and saw Ran beaming happily as she talked to their two friends, he felt his inside's burn with guilt and envy. He walked slowly toward the table and sat down. He could hear Heiji and Ran ask him what had taken him so long, but he ignored them. He simply started eating his okonamiyaki. It tasted like dirt, but he knew it had nothing to do with the food. After another twenty minutes, they exited the restaurant and walked toward the bus stop. The sun had just about disappeared by this time and the sunset cast a brilliant shade of orange on the city.

"Oi Kazuha, stay here with 'neechan, I forgot something at the restaurant and I'm taking the runt to help me find it" She nodded and Heiji firmly yanked Conan by the arm and began to walk back toward the restaurant. "Okay Kudo, what's wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Conan turned confusedly, having just recently become aware that they had left the bus stop

"You heard me, you've been hardly conscious since you came out of the bathroom at that restaurant. What's wrong with you?" His tone was hardly considerate, if anything it sounded irritated

"I…I don't know I'm just tired I guess" he could barely formulate a sentence without trailing off and losing his train of thought

"Weren't you the one that told me something like 'As a detective you should realize how obvious you are'?" Conan processed the comment momentarily before averting his eyes away from Heiji and lowering his head

"Hattori" his voice was now harshly serious "Do you think it's fair?" Heiji looked down at the child in bewilderment. He couldn't muster a response, and instead just kept quiet. After a minute or so of this awkward silence, Conan finally continued "that you and Kazuha are together while Ran and I are forced to remain separated?" The grave tone Conan had adapted only became darker as he continued to speak. Heiji was stunned and stopped walking, visibly befuddled.

"Kudo…." was the only word he could push out of his mouth. Conan walked forward a few more steps and then turned halfway around so only his head was facing the detective

"It's not your fault Hattori, it just….when I see you two together and happy it reminds me of better times. And it also reminds me of just how miserable I am." He turned back around and ducked his head down. They both just stood there, in the middle of an empty sidewalk, completely silent. Heiji at this point had almost fallen to his knees, feeling his weight collapsing on top of him.

"Kudo, there's something you need to know" his voice strained. Conan turned around once again, sensing the pain in his voice. When Conan had turned all the way around, Heiji lifted his head up and stared him in the eyes "Kazuha's leaving".

Meanwhile, back at the bus stop, Kazuha and Ran had fallen into silence after Kazuha made an awkward joke about how desperate Ran was to see her 'beloved knight' again. Ran grinned devilishly as she reared her head back toward Kazuha. Kazuha noticed the look on her face immediately

"W-What?" she asked apprehensively. Ran looked away, maintaining the still evident smirk on her face

"You and Heiji…." She said teasingly, tempting Kazuha to finish her thought

"Its not what you think!" Kazuha screamed involuntarily. After she screamed she covered her mouth shamefully

"Kazuha you liar!" Ran yelled back insistently. Kazuha fidgeted her fingers nervously while trying to formulate a response. After some intense thought, she finally released a heavy sigh

"You caught me"

"Oh Kazuha-chan I'm so excited for you! You must be happy right?" Kazuha tried valiantly to produce a smile, but fell to her knees and found herself crying instead.

"It's so unfair!" she screamed, holding her face in her hands. Ran wrapped her arms around her friend and comforted her as best she could.

"Kazuha, what, what's not fair?" Kazuha sniffled a few times before looking up at her friend

"Ran, my dad is moving us to America. We leave tomorrow. He wants me to go to college there too. Ran I don't know what to do, Heiji and I are so happy with each other now and I'm leaving." Ran looked down lovingly at her distraught friend, knowing the situation all too well.

"Kazuha, I've only seen Shinichi a few times in the last year and a half. It hurts, but I'm alive aren't I? You'll be fine as well. As long as you talk often and hold him in your heart you feelings for him won't diminish." Ran smiled softly as Kazuha's tears began to dissipate.

"You're right Ran-chan." She half-smiled before dipping her head back down "It's still hard though". Ran rubbed her back lightly and lifted her from where she had been kneeling

"It is, but if he's worth it you'll be okay" They shared a moment of peaceful silence before changing the subject and moving on from the whole episode.

Meanwhile, Heiji and Conan were walking back toward the girls, having not said a word since Heiji's very unfortunate news.

"So Kudo" Heiji muttered uncomfortably "what's it like, ya know, to wait for someone you l-l-love" he still had a hard time with that word. Conan gave the question some thought and then responded simply

"It's awful." Heiji frowned at the lack of positive support "I'm sorry, Hattori, I'd be lying if I told you otherwise" They continued to walk in silence after that. As they came closer to the bus stop, Heiji saw Kazuha and began to grimace. He was happy to see her, but those thoughts were far outweighed by the stomach-turning despair he could already feel. She hadn't even left yet and the thought was already killing him. As they got closer, Conan whispered something nonchalantly to him as he ran off toward Ran

"But it makes you appreciate every moment you have with her even more" With no time to respond, Heiji just smiled and kept walking, allowing Kazuha time to notice him coming and smile, blushing a little at the look he gave her back. Before he got to her, he could already see Conan hugging Ran tightly and Ran staring at him puzzled. When he finally reached Kazuha, the sun was shining behind her, bathing her in golden/orange light. He took her by the shoulders for a moment, appreciating how stunning she looked in the moment before leaning in and kissing her. She was shaken at first, embarrassed by the fact that her friend and a little kid were watching, but quickly accepted his kiss despite them. They kissed for a while, leaving Ran and Conan to watch silently and enviously.

_Once the bus came, they all boarded and carried on genially throughout the ride. When the bus stopped in front of the train station, Heiji and Kazuha bid their friends goodbye and Ran demanded a call the second Kazuha landed in the U.S. After they were gone, Kazuha leaned on Heiji shoulder and fell asleep. They remained that way until the bus pulled up at their stop. He delicately jarred her to consciousness and they exited the vehicle. They held hands and walked toward her house. Once they arrived, they took an extensive lapse of time to say goodbye. It was a goodbye filled with hugs, kisses, tears, stares and pain. Once they had finally completed what they considered a satisfying goodbye, they parted ways and Heiji made his way home. Both Heiji and Kazuha wrestled with the idea of calling one another throughout the remainder of the night but both came to the conclusion that it was best to leave things as they were. They would talk the next day anyway and they were both already emotionally worn out. The following morning, Heiji found him self awake at an unorthodox hour, having awoken from a nightmare. With no urge or will to return to sleep, he simply readied himself for the day and took a seat in front of his house, awaiting the sunrise. And so we arrive at the present._


	13. Warmth is a Cruel Devil

_So there he sat, staring faintly into the sunrise, feeling the warmth of the sun gradually overtake his body. He had questioned multiple times whether or not there would be a sunrise at all without her there. They had never been apart so for all he knew the sun had risen every morning just to greet her. As the golden rays continued to envelope his figure, his arms fell at his sides lifelessly. He slumped down in his chair and let the lonesomeness wash over him. Was this the weight that would be on his heart from this point on? Was this what Kudo had lived with all this time? He understood clearly at that point why 'neechan cried so often. The longing in his heart was rivaled by no other feeling he'd ever experienced. He tried his best to suppress the pain, just a little bit, just enough to maybe stand up. But it was futile, the weight of his own sorrow simply pinned him there. He felt his eyelids start to close as the energy in his body was swiftly drained by the immeasurable agony that consumed his mind and body. Consciousness brought him no relief, and unconsciousness only brought him nightmares that magnified the pain he already felt to grotesque levels. He shut his eyes completely and prayed only for a pleasant dream, just to relive any moment in time when she was there with him. Any moment at all would be infinitely better than the emptiness of her absence. With that in mind, he drifted off to sleep. Soon after he fell asleep, a familiar warmth bound itself to his hand again. Even in the deepest recesses of his mind where his currently unconscious thoughts resided, he felt its presence. He responded by gripping back as tightly as he could. When he responded to her hand she blushed and proceeded to caress the top of his hand with the tips of her fingers. She could see his body relax and this comforted her. She pressed her head to his chest and rested there, entranced by the rhythm of his heart beat. She hadn't slept at all the night before, not even a moment. But there, with him, she wanted more than anything to drift into sweet blissful slumber and never awaken. However, she could not, for an unfortunate destiny awaited her a few yards away. Her father sat anxiously in his car, awaiting her return. She thought about leaving and shed a remorseful tear. She watched as the tear rolled down her cheek and saturated the front of his shirt. She lifted herself up from his chest and slowly released his hand. As their hands separated, the coldness that had been temporarily alleviated for both of them now returned to reclaim its icy hold. She ran her fingers gently down his cheek and left him, eyes tear ridden and heart as close to torn as it could get without completely falling apart. As their car drove away, he was awakened from his brief rest. He looked in all directions as he readjusted himself in his chair. He looked down at his hand which felt so much colder than the other. So much colder than it had ever been before. As he sat in confusion gazing at his hand, a mirage appeared before him, depicting the events of the past few minutes. He watched her hold his hand and cry on his chest and he questioned whether this was his mind's way of coping or his heart's way of comforting him. Either way, he deduced that it was merely an image projected by his inner thoughts as a result of his drowsiness. The moment he decided that, the images disappeared and he was alone again. Alone, and left only with the brisk chill that danced around his hand. _

_-Warmth is a cruel devil. It makes its absence known by leaving the accursed sting of cold behind as a reminder that it was once present. _


	14. Can I Tell You a Secret?

_Over the next few weeks everything went as well as the Osakan teens could have hoped. They talked once a day, however, due to the time change it was 7 a.m for Heiji and 10 p.m for Kazuha. It was inconvenient to have to talk to her as soon as he woke up, but he could care less as long as he heard from her. Kazuha adapted to her new school well and even made a few friends despite her awkward sounding English. Heiji was content with the relationship despite the fact that he still missed having her around. However, about three weeks after she left, Kazuha said she couldn't talk because she had to study. The following day she said the same thing. Four days went by where Heiji and Kazuha did not speak. No matter how much Heiji tried to write it off as nothing, he was deeply worried by this turn of events and called the only person he knew could understand how he was feeling, Mouri Ran._

Ran, Conan and Kogoro had just sat down to eat dinner. Ran had been in a fantastic mood the last few days because she finally got Shinichi to agree to call her twice a week. She had no idea how difficult she was making his life however, having to sneak out of the house for fifteen to thirty minutes twice a week. Life had become stressful for the one she called Conan, but he didn't really mind. However, even he was surprised to hear Ran's phone start ringing at the dinner table.

"Huh?" she glanced down at her pocket, reaching for her phone

"Who is it Ran-neechan?" Conan asked curiously. Curious was putting it lightly, it was more like anxious. He knew for a fact that Sonoko was off on some cruise with her family for the week and where Kazuha was, it was seven o'clock in the morning.

"It's Hattori-kun" Ran was surprised by the caller I.D, but not nearly as surprised as Conan was who sat across from her utterly dumbfounded. 'Hattori?' He thought to himself 'What does he need Ran for? It must be trouble with Kazuha'. When he came to this conclusion, he returned to eating and gave little more thought to the call. Meanwhile Ran walked into her room to take the call in private

"What is Hattori-kun?" she asked politely

"'neechan, I need your help…well I guess it's more like I need your advice" he sounded almost frantic

"Is it about Kazuha?" she asked rhetorically

"Yes" he replied bashfully

"What happened?"

"She hasn't talked to me in almost a week"

"I see. Is that all?"

"What do you mean 'is that all!' We've spoken everyday since the day she left and now suddenly she doesn't want to talk to me anymore!" by this point he was no longer talking but screaming into the phone

"Calm down Hattori-kun, did she give you a reason why she couldn't talk to you?" he seemed to come down as she could hear him breathe heavily

"Well she said she had to study but she couldn't really have been studying the past four days" Ran paused a moment, carefully choosing her words

"It is a possibility that she's lying to you" Heiji felt his heart drop and his temper flare

"You think she's with some other guy? She's only been gone three and a half weeks who could she have met already?" what little calmness he had come by was gone and he was screaming into the phone

"You can't just go around assuming something like that. Do you really think she would do that to you?" Ran felt she had decisively won the argument until she heard a faint response from the other line

""I…don't know" he was almost whispering, but the intensity and fury had not left his voice

"Hattori!" Ran yelled violently at him "How can you say such things?"

"I mean…we were only really…ya know…_together_ for a few days. And if she found some guy that's…well better than me-"

"Stop it Hattori!" It was a rarity to see Ran angry, but when she was it was scary "Stop thinking like that, she waited years for you she would not have strayed away so quickly. Have faith in her" with this spirited rebuttal, Heiji felt a sensation of confidence spring up in his chest

"You're right 'neechan, arigato" and with that, he hung up. Ran put her phone away and stared out her window for a moment 'You wouldn't do that to him, would you?' the thought made her cringe, but she decided to save the thought for a later time and returned to her meal. After dinner, Ran cleaned up quickly and retired to her room, claiming she had homework to do. Conan pled a similar story and retreated to the room he and Kogoro shared. The moment their doors closed, they each had their cell phones out and made a call on their respective speed dials.

"Oi Hattori" Conan said seriously

"Kazuha-chan!" Ran said gleefully

"Kudo? What is it?" Heiji asked sounding irritated

"Ran? This is unexpected what's up?" Kazuha said, trying to mirror her friend's enthusiasm despite the fact that she was in the middle of her first class

"I'm gonna be straight with you Hattori, why'd you call Ran?" his voice was direct and unwavering

"What do you mean 'what did I do to Hattori?' Has he been talking to you?" Kazuha had been less than enthralled by the call from her friend at such an odd time of day, but now she was invading her personal life and she did not appreciate it

"Look Kudo, I called her for advice, that's all" Heiji seemed defensive, which prodded Conan to ask more questions

"Advice on what?" Kazuha asked, puzzled by what her friend had said

"He was worried about you not talking to him? He's scared you might be off with some other guy"

"You're such an idiot!" Heiji screamed back at the grade school student

"Why am I an idiot? It just seemed odd that you would call her at this hour for advice"

"So what he assumes after a few weeks apart that I'm already looking for a new guy?" Kazuha asked angrily, now paying full attention to their conversation

"He said he wasn't sure and I reassured him that you were remaining faithful" At that moment, both calls went silent for a few seconds

"Kudo/Ran can I tell you a secret?" Both Conan and Ran were shocked by the fearful inflection that their voiced had adopted

"Sure"

"Of course you can Kazuha-chan I'm your friend" Once again both lines were silent momentarily before any words were spoken

"Kudo, I think Kazuha is hiding something from me"

"Ran I did something awful" Ran looked startled at the phone

"Kazuha what is it" she asked, sounding almost maternal for a moment

"I….I met a guy at a party and I told I would go out with him. We've been on two dates" Conan and Ran were both taken back by what their friend's had relayed to them

"Hattori, what exactly do you think she's hiding?"

"I dunno Kudo, I just know that whenever adultery is involving in a murder, the spouses usually report that they had cut back significantly on the amount of time they spent together and their amount of communication"

"Hattori, you're being dramatic, I'm sure it's not that" he said heart-heartedly, which Heiji easily noticed

"Oh really?"

"Yes, Kazuha-chan."

"You think he'll forgive me just like that?" she asked, thoroughly unconvinced

"He loves you doesn't he? How long can he stay mad?" Kazuha allowed the tiniest smile to creep onto her face

"Yeah I guess so" Heiji said in defeat "It's not like she's even capable of getting another guy" he scoffed to himself, unaware that the other line was dead silent

"So, do you feel better now Hattori?"

"Yeah, thanks Kudo" with that Heiji hung up, leaving Conan to ponder the conversation. 'Why was he so worried anyway?' Conan simply shook his head and walked out of his room. As he approached the door to Ran's room, he overheard her still talking on the phone and decided to wait outside the door. He hadn't intended to eavesdrop until a certain name rang in his ear

"Look Kazuha-chan, you shouldn't worry so much" Conan snaked his head into the small crack at Ran's door

"Maybe you're right, but how do I tell him?" And then Conan heard the words that could not be unheard

"Look Kazuha, all you have to say is 'Heiji, I'm sorry but I started seeing someone...' the rest off what she said was a blur to Conan because he had already become lost in his own thoughts 'No, Hattori. How could she do that to him? Should I tell him? How am I supposed to tell him something like that…' his thoughts trailed off and he found himself slowly walking toward his bed. As he laid down, he tried his hardest to suppress his thoughts just long enough for him to fall asleep. With no luck, he was suddenly confronted with an even more disturbing revelation 'What if…what if…Ran….' Before he completed his mental statement he leapt up off his bed mat and ran full speed toward Ran's door. By this time she had ended her call and was preparing for bed. Conan, without any forethought at all burst in the door to find Ran in the process of changing. She was currently clad only in a bra and the jeans she had been wearing.

"C-Conan-kun!" she stood bewildered by the situation while Conan, try as he might, could not stop staring. He was aware of the blood that had begun to leak out of his nostrils but had not the state of mind to do anything about it. He could only admire every feature of her body that had been presented to him. Despite having bathed with her, this was the first time he'd ever been face to face with her body like this. After at least two minutes of complete silence and perverse staring, Conan regained his train of thought and turned around

"Ran-neechan I'm sorry about running in here" he apologized using the cutest, most adorable child's voice he could possible produce. It was a shot to his pride, but in this situation pride was not a factor

"It's okay, I'm dressed now" He turned around and she was in her usual pink nightgown

"I need to ask you something very important" Ran looked mystified. Partially because of what had just happened and partially because of the look on the little boy's face

"What is it Conan-kun?"

"You're not gonna leave Shinichi-niisan for some weird guy are you?" Conan face was completely genuine which may have been the reason Ran blushed as much as she did

"Conan-kun that's silly it's not like we're…" Ran eyes meet Conan's and suddenly, whether by imagination or intuition, she felt Shinichi's eyes looking back at her. She crouched down in front of Conan, bringing herself to eye level with him. Conan blushed as she brought her face within mere inches of his "I'll wait for Shinichi as long as it takes" she smiled reassuringly at him after answering his question.

"Arigato Ran-neechan, sleep well" Conan ran off merrily, closing the door behind him. Ran took a deep breath and collapsed on her bed, staring at the moon through her window

"As long as it takes" she whispered under her breath as she rolled over and fell asleep. Little did she know, in her father's room, a seventeen year old detective was reiterating a solemn decree that he had repeated to himself for a year and a half

"Ran, I will do everything I can to come back as soon as possible. I promise you, I won't make you wait a second longer than you have to" As he fell back onto his own sleeping arrangement, his thoughts wandered back to the daunting task of the next day. He stared up at the ceiling with a tinge of remorse on his face "Hattori, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm the one that has to tell you this. I hope you can forgive me, and her." Having no more energy to think, he tossed his glasses off and dozed off. Meanwhile, back in Osaka, Heiji was already asleep. He was sleeping very well, in fact, sadly unaware of the news to come.

* * *

**It kind of hurt me to write this but hey, it's never as simple as you think it's gonna be. I've written a few too many fluffy endings, it's time for a different flavor.**

**Continue to read and review**


	15. DullWitted Decisions

_The following morning, Conan awoke earlier than usual. Normally he would have begrudgingly gotten up for school as late as possible, but today he had been thrust into consciousness naturally just a little before six in the morning. Seeing no point in trying to return to slumber he slowly rose from the mat he was laying on, trying his best not to stir the very passed out Kogoro. Once out of his room, he went to the couch and sat down. He had deduced it would be better to hold off on a shower until Ran was already up. He didn't want her to wake up earlier than she had to. Having no other choice to occupy his time at such an early hour, he chose to do what he often did on nights when he couldn't sleep; go in Ran's room and watch her sleep. He had always known it was slightly peculiar of him to do so, but he didn't care. It was the only time he got to see her without the 'older sister' façade that she utilized any time he was near her. He stood stiffly beside her bed, nerve racked by the thought of her waking up and seeing him. The thought of her seeing him, no glasses, watching her sent a chill down his spine, and yet he couldn't bring himself to leave. Despite the risk, seeing her there lying peacefully without any of the stress and grief her daily life brought her put him in a better place. He felt the rare embrace of tranquility around him as he gazed on her form shamelessly. In a moment of illogical affection he reached out and lightly brushed a strand of wandering brown hair behind her ear, which caused her to unconsciously smile at him. She was still asleep, but he could imagine her dreaming of him, in his real body, brushing her hair back just as he had done. He smiled half-heartedly, feeling a twinge of remorse circulate in his chest and walked out of her room. The sun was now barely ascended above the outline of the mountain range that lied far beyond the city, allowing a thin stream of golden rays to penetrate the windows of the detective agency. Conan stood inches away from the window that lied behind Kogoro's desk, allowing the warmth and light and cover his entire body. He took a deep breath, embracing the full effect of the golden orb's presence. He stood there, covered in the sun's light with his hands clasped firmly behind his back and a content smirk on his face. With such a pleasant morning he couldn't help but think 'maybe this day won't be as bad as I thought it'd be'_

**~Seven Hours Later~ **

"Conan-kun, how was school?" Ran asked happily. Since she woke that morning she had been in an almost enviable good mood

"It was okay. How about you?"

"Not too bad. It's getting overwhelming though, having to take notes and do homework for Shinichi. He better appreciate this when he comes back!" Conan shuddered, observing the lack of humor in her voice

"I appreciate everything you do for me-" 'Crap!' Conan thought angrily 'Damnit, Damnit! I am such an idiot!' His frustration wasn't helped at all by the curious glare Ran was continuing to give him

"Conan-kun…what did you say?" she asked expectantly, making sure to keep eye contact to make it difficult for him to lie

"Uh well…I mean…" he looked around erratically, trying to concoct a plan. After a few seconds, he re-established eye contact with her "how could he not be attracted to a woman that is so good with kids!" he blurted out concisely, trying to make his comment appear accidental

"Conan-kun what are…." Her mind drifted off as she considered his choice of words. Specifically one word, it kept replaying in her head. 'Attracted…to me?' Her face became flushed and she scampered off to her room, mumbling little comments of denial under her breath. Conan sighed heavily in relief. As he walked off to his room to remove his backpack he snickered to himself 'For all her intelligence she can be thrown off so easily. And everyone thinks I'm the dense one'. When he arrived in his room, he put his backpack on the ground and pulled his phone out of his pocket

"Okay" he said to himself, forcing himself to punch in Heiji's speed dial "I have to do this, he needs to know"

Meanwhile, in Osaka, Heiji had been through possibly the worst day of his existence. With his girlfriend no longer present to threaten any female that got within two feet of him, he had been swarmed by dozens of girls throughout the day. For any other guy this would have been paradise, but for Heiji, it was hell on earth. Heiji was very traditional in a few specific respects, one of them being that he thought adultery was absolutely deplorable. More than once he had voiced his opinion on the matter to various criminals that he brought to justice that had been involved in extra-marital affairs. Despite this very well known moral stance, his female classmates came onto him in a rather indignant manner. The worst of it wasn't even the discomfort he felt around the girls, but the unwelcome feelings of gloominess that resulted from their presence. Every time he told a girl that he was taken and to back off, he was further reminded of Kazuha's absence. When he left the school, he walked home along his usual route, alone. He welcomed the solitude, however, considering he hadn't been alone in eight hours. Half way through his very peaceful walk, he felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket. He fished it out and found it to be Conan, and he answered promptly

"Oi Kudo what's up?"

"Uh…nothing much Hattori" Conan tried his best to manufacture a pleasant tone

"You sound kinda down, you alright? Something happen with 'neechan?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. Listen, I actually called because…because I need to tell you something" he hesitated

"I'm listening"

"About Kazuha" Suddenly a degree of tension began to build between the two. After nearly a minute of silence, Heiji spoke up

"Well what is it?" He asked impatiently

"It's uh…just something…she…"

"Kudo spit it out what happened?"

"She's seeing someone in America" A new silence developed, but this time it was accompanied by the faint sound of non-sequential breathing. The deep, forceful huffs were coming from Heiji who had become entranced and unaware of the caller on the other line. Conan, having no idea what to say simply remained silent, hoping that his Osakan friend would calm down if given a moment to gather himself. Instead, he heard a loud thud and the unmistakable sound of rushed footsteps. "Hattori! Hattori!" No use, he was long gone and he had left his phone behind. 'That baka!' he thought angrily to himself. 'No doubt he's going to catch the first flight to New York'

"Conan-kun!" he heard his pseudo-name called from the other room. He composed himself and ran happily toward the voice

"Hai" He appeared from his room

"Conan-kun, what were you doing you've been in there on the phone for almost fifteen minutes. Who were you talking to?" he felt a bead of sweat roll down his forehead

"Uh M-Mitsuhiko" he lied unconvincingly

"Conan-kun don't you stand there and lie to me!" she snapped back maternally

"Okay okay, it was Heiji-niisan" She flinched at the mention of his name

"Oh r-really, how is he?"

"He's really sad, he said he had to go to America to see Kazuha because she has a date" Ran leapt forward and grabbed him by the shoulders, hoisting him into the air and holding him at eye level

"Who told him about that? How did he know about that?" he asked him growing more frustrated with each passing second of silence "Conan tell me!" he was now sweating profusely, looking at her with blatantly guilty eyes

"I….may have heard you and Kazuha-neechan talking last night" he said innocently

"Conan-kun! And you told Hattori-kun about what you heard?" he just nodded, averting his eyes away from hers "Come one Conan, I'll call otosan later, we have to go now and see him before he makes a huge mistake. I'll call him and tell him we're coming"

"Wait, Ran-neechan his phone is broken you can't call him" he lied again. This would be one of the many lies he would have to apologize to her for when he changed back into himself. Ran growled to herself, clenching her fist

"We need to hurry, we HAVE to beat him to her" she gad a gleam of determination in her eyes that he had seen in his own eyes many times

"But Ran-neechan we can't just go to America can we?"

"We'll have to apologize later, right now, we need to go" She took him by the wrist and dragged him out the door, giving him just enough time to grab both of their jackets off of the rack in front of the door. As they stumbled down the stairs he managed to catch a glimpse of her face. He couldn't help but notice how…attractive she was. He didn't know if it was the light or the situation or the look of determination but something about was simply…hot. He couldn't deny it even if he wanted to; she was downright sexy when she got like this, which was rare. He marveled at her, hardly able to detach his eyes from her. He was completely consumed by thoughts(more like fantasies) about her until he very gracefully(sarcasm) tripped over a sewer drain and slammed head first onto the pavement. Ran snapped out of her trance and knelt down to tend to him. He smiled gratefully as he rubbed his forehead and smiled. They continued walking and Conan continued to rub his head, irritated by the pain and by the fact that his thoughts had been interrupted. He took a deep breath and looked ahead, watching his steps carefully. They were nearing the bus stop that would take them to the airport. Another forty five minutes and they would be on a fourteen hour flight to New York.

Meanwhile, in Osaka trans-national airport, Hattori Heiji stood impatiently in a line of over a hundred people. Apparently some new folk revival band was starting their national tour of the U.S in two days and people were flocking from all corners of the earth to see it. Or at least that's what the nine people closest to him in line said. He continued to brood impatiently as the line moved at snail's pace. His fists were clenched, as they had been since the moment he dropped his phone. While he waited, he had plenty of time to consider all the dull-witted decisions he'd made in the last thirty minutes. He had left his phone on a bike path, his motorcycle parked in the airport parking lot with no lock on it and his helmet dangling from the right handlebar and not to mention in a flurry of emotions he'd grabbed his father's gold card from the drawer of his nightstand. He was going to be at a new level of anger never before witnessed by the world when he found out, but he didn't really care. He didn't really care about anything at the moment, except the line in front of him. He was now a mere sixty-two people away. He had taken to counting every passenger in line over and over again in order to calm himself down. It had little effect, seeing as he was still as hostile as a wild boar. The only question on Heiji's mind was 'How should destroy that guy' he chuckled heartily at the thought 'I think a good beating with a lead pipe should be work. Maybe even a bare-fisted beating' Fifty-one people left. Another thirty seconds passed. Fifty people left. He smirked confidently to himself 'You just wait, I'll be there soon enough'. Forty-six people left. 'I'm comin'


	16. Twelve Hour Flight

"He's WHAT!" For Kazuha this call came a few minutes shy of 10 p.m. She had just finished her homework and was preparing to call Heiji. This may have explained some of her surprise when she picked up her phone to see it was Ran calling. Undoubtedly, however, the bulk of her shock came from what Ran _said_

"This isn't a joke. He thinks you're being unfaithful so he caught the first plane to New York, now he's on his way!" Ran yelled, somewhat sternly

"I thought you reassured him!" Kazuha screamed back frantically

"I did….but Conan-kun overheard us talking and told Hattori-kun" Conan smiled nervously, as if trying to smile at Kazuha through the phone. His smile was soon turned to a fearful grimace as he heard Kazuha's voice through the phone screaming death threats at him. Her volume was deafening, so much so that it caused Ran to hold the phone away from her ear and it was easily decipherable for Conan who was a few feet away from the phone. "Kazuha calm down, this isn't his fault he's just a little kid. He didn't know any better" Conan grinned sarcastically 'the one advantage to be like this is that I get out of a lot of trouble, especially with Ran'.

"But Ran-chan, what are we gonna do? I don't know if I can tell him the truth to his face. And I'm supposed to see James-san tomorrow for dinner at the Empire State Building. I haven't been there yet so he's taking me" Kazuha's stomach turned at the thought of Heiji coming face-to-face with James.

"Relax Kazuha-chan you're just going to have to tell him that you can't see him tomorrow"

"Ran, you don't understand, I already told him I have something really important to tell him tomorrow. I have to see him" Ran was appalled by her candor

"Kazuha…what were you going to tell him?" Ran asked apprehensively

"That we can't see each other anymore. I realized yesterday when I talked to you that it was wrong to toy with his emotions when I was already devoted to someone else." She said shamefully

"Well that's a good thing, so why do you sound so unsure of it?" Ran asked, handing the ticket agent her credit card

"It's just…I don't if Heiji will forgive me" her voice was quiet and nervous

"Kazuha" she said tenderly as she led Conan by the hand toward their gate "He will. Trust me, if he cares enough to fly across the world so suddenly, he cares enough to forgive you" Kazuha gave a sigh of relief

"I hope you're right Ran-chan. Hey, what's all that noise around you? Where are you exactly?" Ran hesitated as her eyes widened fearfully

"Um…well when I heard Hattori-kun was going to see you I thought I would try to talk him before he found you" she said sheepishly as the female attendant in front of the entrance tunnel to the plane took her tickets

"Wait so you're-"

"Ma'am no phones beyond this point. The flight attendants will confiscate your phone if you try to make a call while the plane is in flight" Kazuha paused having heard all of what the woman instructed

"Ran-chan!"

"Sorry Kazuha-chan I'll talk to you later" she said just before abruptly ending the call "Ne Conan-kun" she said sweetly, looking down at the child that was holding her hand "Maybe we'll see your parents while we're in America" 'Oh crap!' Conan thought 'Knowing my parents, they'll track us down while we're their. They live in New York after all. I wonder if they'll come in disguise or not'. As he continued to ponder the prospect of a meeting with his parents, he and Ran made their way to their seats. Once seated, Ran gave a heavy sigh and leaned back. Conan noticed this immediately

"Are you tired Ran-neechan?" she slowly rolled her head in his direction

"Yeah, I guess all this excitement has worn me out a little. I think I'll take a nap, wake me up if they play a romance movie" Conan nodded and rolled his eyes 'Please God not a romance movie' he thought.

Meanwhile, a very uneasy Hattori Heiji watched as the ground disappeared from his plane seat. There was a movie playing, but he didn't care to watch. He tried to sleep but could barely mange to shut his eyes. His blood was pumping furiously through his body, making him hot and uncomfortable. He tried his best to maintain his composure in such a public setting, but found it difficult when the couple behind him insisted on arguing feverishly. They hadn't stopped since the moment they sat down, and the woman had used his sacred word at least a hundred times already. Every time she called her counterpart an 'Aho' his boiling emotions pushed a little closer to the surface. 'That word' he kept thinking with gritted teeth and curved eyebrows. The word brought unwanted memories of Kazuha to the forefront of his mind. In a frenzy, he stood up and quickly walked to the bathroom. He locked the door and leaned against it. He was breathing heavily, holding a hand firmly to his chest. His heart was beating violently against his sternum, causing him to squeeze his chest harder. He leaned over the small sink and cupped some water in his hands. He slowly submerged his face in the water, temporarily cooling his heated cheeks. When he let the water run down into the drain, he felt significantly better. He dried his face and opened the bathroom door, taking one last deep breath to level himself out. When he returned to his seat he placed the complimentary headphones over his ears. He grinned with satisfaction as he looked back at the arguing couple, watching their lips move with no sound to accompany. He turned back around and shut his eyes.

Meanwhile, Conan was having his own problems on his flight. Though Ran had slept when they got onto the plane, the movie was indeed a romance so Ran elected to watch. This was no mere romance movie, however, it was the sappiest romance movie in existence: The Notebook. Conan hated it when she watched romance movies because despite how they pleased her initially, they always reminded her that Shinichi wasn't with her and it killed her. Every time, she would watch a romance with Sonoko or Kazuha or by herself on T.V and be enamored with it. Then later that night she would think about it and want so badly for Shinichi to be there with her and she would cry her eyes out. And every time she repeated this masochistic ritual, he was there to watch and it hurt him just as much. He would never admit it out loud, but he probably missed her more than she missed him. He had to be with her everyday and pretend he was someone else. He had to pretend he didn't care about her the way he really did. He had to love her as a sister, and it drove him to the brink of insanity. As Ran continued to watch the movie, crying tears that both sympathized for and related to the characters. If the sexes were reversed, their stories would actually be fairly similar: she was forced to leave him and he waited for her to come back to him. However, the woman in their story ran off and found someone else. She even got engaged to another man, but he found her and won her heart. Ran wrestled with a few very disturbing thoughts as the film's credits began to roll 'Would Shinichi actually find someone else? Has he already found someone else? Should I be chasing after him? Maybe he thinks I don't care because I've never gone and searched for him' She became so enwrapped in her own contemplations that she didn't even notice Conan's eyes glued to her. He had been watching her for the past fifteen minutes, pretending to sleep but keeping both eyes open slightly. The look on her face said she was deeply troubled and internally conflicted, a look that he had seen far too often over the last year. He rolled the other way and closed his eyes completely, trying to fall asleep as a means of escaping the melancholy eyes of the girl beside him. As he drifted off to sleep he heard her mutter something somberly to herself. It sounded something like

"I wonder if he'd do this for me" Conan inched further away from her and made another futile attempt to fall asleep. In spite of his valiant efforts to escape consciousness, he remained awake and his mind remained centered on the words she had said, those torturous, unrelenting words that swam without restraint through every fiber of his being. The guilt eroded away any confidence or resolve he had left. At that moment, he was closer to pouring his heart out and confessing every detail of the last year to Ran than he had ever been before. Yet he remained quiet and curled up as close to the side of the plane of he possibly could, gaining the maximum distance possible from Ran. Deep down he wanted to _be_ as far away from her as he felt.

Meanwhile, the Great Detective of the West laid comfortably in his seat. Because of his anxiety over Kazuha he had slept only a few hours a night the last week so for him, sleeping felt wondrous. At the rate he was going, the idea of sleeping through the entire twelve hour flight was not the least bit farfetched. Three hours down, nine to go.


	17. A Drive with Frank Solini

_When Ran and Conan's plane finally landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport it was 5:45 p.m Friday. They were awestruck by the density and incoherency of the mob that crowded the airport as they left the plane. For them that was a good thing because it meant Heiji probably hadn't made it out of the airport yet. Not to mention the jetlag he was definitely suffering from, there was no way he had made it too far. Or at least that's what they were hoping the case would be. As they sifted through the crowd as best they could, Ran was growing increasingly irritated by Conan's refusal to hold her hand. _

"Conan-kun grab my I don't want to get lost in this big crowd" she shouted maternally, trying to make her voice known over the roar of the crowd around them. He simply continued to look forward, completely ignoring her and walked ahead. She grunted angrily to herself but decided he was a capable child and he wouldn't let himself get lost.

Conan, meanwhile, had been unable to shake the dreary thoughts that had plagued him for twelve long hours. Even in the small spaces of time when he managed to fall asleep, dreams of Ran and her tears plagued him. The guilt that had been building steadily since the day he created the bastardous pseudo-identity Edogawa Conan was now banging at his ribs, demanding relief. All the emotion that was hidden behind his ever-hardening persona was becoming too much. Every time Ran touched him or even looked at him he felt as though he had committed a heinous and malicious crime that he needed to atone for. Nonetheless he resolved that this was not the time for his self-loathing, but rather the time to help his deluded friend before he made a mistake that could end the relationship he had just recently sprouted with his childhood friend.

As they finally reached the main exit of the airport, Ran checked her watch, which, thanks to recent technological advances had already converted its clock to U.S Eastern Standard time. She mumbled grumpily to herself, already stressed by the airport and the jetlag and the situation itself

"Its 6:26 Conan-kun" she started hurriedly "Kazuha just responded to my mail message, she said her date is at 7:15. If we can get there before she and James-san do then we can keep a look out for Hattori" Conan nodded in agreement

"But wait, Ran-neechan does Heiji-niisan even know where Kazuha-neechan is going to be?" Ran grasped her chin, thinking hard

"Now that I think about it, I don't think he does. I mean, he would have had to ask either me or Kazuha herself, and neither of us would have told him so…" suddenly her eyes shot open in conjunction with Conan's

"Toyama-keibu!" they both screamed in unison.

_Hattori Heiji was currently using his very well groomed English to explain where he needed to go to the cab driver as he hung up the phone._

"I need to get to the Empire State Building. I will give you an extra $30 if you can get me there before 7:15" the cabby waived a friendly hand back at the obviously foreign teenager

"You got it kid, you're ridin' with Frank Salini, the fastest cab in Manhattan" he winked at Heiji via the rear view mirror and they were off. Heiji smirked confidently as he relaxed in the back of the taxi 'It's a good thing Toyama-san picked up the phone and knew where Kazuha would be tonight, otherwise I would've had to sit and wait at her house. Come to think of it, I'm not even sure where she lives. I know she lives in Manhattan, but nothing more detailed than that. You'd think that Aho would at least mention where she lived' he crossed his arms in front of his chest and sneered angrily at the thought. As he continued to think, he heard a vaguely familiar voice ring in his ear

"Hey kid, I know ya' not from around heya' so what's ya' business?" the cabby asked roughly but non-threateningly

_As Ran and Conan boarded the tram in front of the airport, she continued to analyze the map she was holding intently._

"Okay" she started, taking a deep breath "We should be able to take this rail to here" she pointed to a spot on the map near Atlantic Avenue "Then we get off and switch to" she pointed to another rail "the Jamaica line. That should take us to Kips Bay" she pointed to a large body of water that separated two parts of the city "From there we take a water taxi, then take a taxi to the Empire State Building" she finished arrogantly, putting a fist on each hip

"Ran-neechan" Conan whispered nervously

"What is it Conan-kun, confused by my great plan?" she smirked with seemingly unshakeable confidence

"No…but we could have just taken a taxi the whole way" he shuddered as she froze and glared down at him. He laughed half-heartedly "that is, if it wasn't for Ran-neechan's super smart plan" her glare lingered for a few seconds, then she once again took a hero's stance, staring out into the imaginary distance

"That's right!" Conan chuckled to himself 'since when are you so cocky?'

"Uh…." Heiji fumbled with words, as he tried to retain a degree of composure "W-What do you mean sir?" because Heiji's English was taught exclusively in a classroom, it had no really dialect to it. He sounded very proper and almost robotic when he spoke

"Well kid ya' English is a little on the straight lace side, and around heya', you either sound lika New Yorka or you don't. You, friend, definitely don't." Heiji swallowed hard. It was ironic really, he has always been easily recognized by his Kansai dialect, but here he was recognized because of his lack of a dialect.

"You are correct. I am from Osaka, Japan." The cabby looked at him again using the rear view mirror

"Ay kid'" he said, a little more forcefully "that waddn't my question" he glanced at the road in front of him then back to Heiji "I asked ya' what ya' business was here in Manhattan" Heiji twiddled his thumbs for a second, embarrassed by the topic and the taxi driver's unwavering curiosity

"It's actually a very long story" he said robotically, still managing to transmit a combination of frustration and melancholy in his words

"Kid, we got at least anudda half owa til' we get the Empy State Buildin' so why don't ya' lay your story on ol' Franky" Heiji thought for a moment before addressing the cabby's eyes via the mirror

"Okay, if you insist I will tell you." and Heiji proceded to tell a complete stranger all the ups and downs of the last week.

_Meanhwile, Ran stood quietly, holding a handle that hung from the roof of the tram while Conan sat in a seat in front of her. They had been relatively quiet since she had put the map back in her pocket. Conan was still feeling guilty and being forced to sit a foot away from Ran was not helping it at all. Every minute or two their eyes would meet and she would smile at him. He would feign a smile and look away promptly. Ran had begun to notice this and was growing concerned._

"Conan-kun" she addressed him nervously. He looked at her trying to appear cheerful

"Ne Ran-neechan?" When he met her eyes he noticed she was making no effort to even pretend she was happy like she usually did in his presence

"Conan-kun, are you mad at me?" she asked innocently, her eyes huge and honest. He stumbled on his words, unable to think coherently with her staring at him

"N-No why would I be mad at Ran-neechan?" he said hesitantly

"You don't have to lie" she said coldly, averting her eyes away from him toward the ground "its okay if you are, I…I'd just like to know what I did…" the guilt and anguish that had been on his mind and heart was now erupting with a vengeance. 'How could she possible feel like my mood is her fault? She's always doing that, blaming herself and crying over other people, why does she do that to herself'. He thought intently on her comment, then jumped of his seat and walked in front of her, forcing eye contact

"It's not you" he said shyly "It's that Shinichi-niisan, he's always making you sad. I saw you crying on the plane, and I knew it was because of him" he tried his best to sound both serious and childish

"Conan…" she trailed, stunned by his omission. She held back her tears for fear of public embarrassment and knelt down in front of him, bringing her face within inches of his

"I just don't like it when you're sad Ran-neechan" this sounded much more childlike than his previous statement

"Conan…I know it worries you when I cry, but the tears aren't always sad ones" she smiled while her lips quivered from the tears she was holding back "when I have really bad days, I can think back on times when he was with me and I feel better. Sometimes our memories make me cry because I remember how happy I was…how happy we were." She stopped talking abruptly rose up, placing her face in the crease of her right arm. Conan could only watch as the tears she tried so hard to keep bottled up ran down the crease of her arm and splashed harmlessly on the floor of the tram. He felt all his will power shatter within him, just as it had on the plane. He wanted more than anything to do something to relieve her pain. Anything that would make her tears go away and make her smile again, like she had so often when he was there.

"Ran-neechan I need to use the bathroom" he spat the words out as he ran away, trying to lose her in the crowd of people so as not to be followed. When he saw her stiffly clinging to the handle she was holding and reach a hand out, putting forth no visible pursuit, he slowed down and walked casually through a few more cars until he reached the end of the tram. He found the dingy bathroom and entered, locking the door behind him. He pulled out his phone and dialed the first number on his speed dial.

"So there it is. My story and the reason I am here" Heiji said, sighing a breath of relief. It had taken fifteen minutes of solid, one-sided talking to portray the whole situation. When he had finished, the cabby continued to watch the road but seemed to be thinking critically.

"So lemme' get this straight, ya' finally make a move on that girly of yours, then her pops decides to move em' here?" Heiji nodded "Then you find out from some four-eyed kid that lives with ya' gal's friend that she's been sneakin' round' behind ya' back?" Heiji nodded again, this time with an obvious expression of disdain for the recitation of that particular detail " and now ya' tryin' to catch em' in the act so you can put a serious bruisin' on that guy uh hers?" Heiji nodded a little more enthusiastically with a maniacal grin "Hmm…" he began to think again "Okay, so say you do get there in time to catch em', and ya' show her man what's what, whatdya gonna' do then?" Heiji, being a detective usually prepared for any possible situation, but he had never been a master of foresight. He wasn't widely acknowledged as a "hot-blooded" teenager for no reason.

"Uh…well I just…" the thought of talking to Kazuha about the whole situation had been so emotionally straining for him that he had completely blocked the thought out. 'He's right' Heiji thought nervously to himself 'so what if I beat up that gut she's with, what then? Does she even care about me anymore? Is there even a point to me being here?' As pessimistic conjecture continued to swirl around in his mind, the cabby had cracked a small smirk

"Kid, you're not the first to tell me a story like that" Heiji's eyes darted up and met his in the mirror "and ya know what usually happens?" Heiji sat on the edge of his seat anxiously awaited the possible outcome of his situation "Nuthin" the cabby finished plainly, moving his eyes back to the road

"W-What do you mean" the fear Heiji was feeling was not hidden by his robotic English

"Kid, when a man sees his girl out with someone else, there's almost nevuh any anger" Heiji was now thoroughly confused but nevertheless continued to listen intently "there's only hurt. No mattuh how much you wanna lay that sorry son-ova-gun out, you won't. You'll see em' and you'll walk away with your hands in ya' pockets and go home. That's what most of the guys that pass through here do" He finished solemnly, sounding almost paternal

"So…so there's nothing I can do" he muttered to himself in Japanese

"There's always something you can do kid" the cabby responded in English

"W-W-What? You understand Japanese?" he asked dumbfounded

"Kid, ya' gotta undastand ima cabby, I've learned a few tricks in my time" he grinned "Besides, we get alotta Japs comin' through here. I picked up a little of their speak, not much though" Heiji reclined in his seat again, his curiosity satisfied

"So then…what do I do?" he asked helplessly

"You don't pay any mind to that punk she's with. Remember, you're there for her, not him. Most guys let the anger run em', you gotta be smarter than that. You gotta care more than that kapeesh?" he gave Heiji an encouraging smile through the mirror

"Yes…I understand" he said softly as he turned his eyes toward the window. Suddenly a tall structure, illuminated by thousands of miniscule lights all along the outside of it caught his attention "Frank, is that-"

"Yessir my friend, that's the pride of the city, our Empy State Buildin" Heiji was ecstatic and yet full of fear. He felt a strange mixture of looming danger and irrepressible excitement. But above all, one thought was more prominent than any feeling 'I'm ready to see her' he clenched a confident fist on continued to gaze at the architectural marvel

_Meanwhile, Conan was visibly irritated. He had run off to call Ran and reassure her of his affection for her and apologize for all the pain he caused her, but as he dialed her number the tram they were on came to a stop and the people began to flood out. Ran quickly found him and led him off the train. Once they boarded the next train, she refused to release his hand for his 'safety'. So the entire tram ride he stood, stupidly holding Ran's hand, unable to break free for even a second. After they exited the second tram that let off at the water taxi pick up, he found a shining opportunity to re-enact his plan_

"What do you mean there's a fifteen minute wait for the water taxi!" Ran said with a steadily increasing level of frustration

"Uh ma'am I'm sorry we're still waiting for the last taxi to return, when it does you'll be able to leave" the attendant at the pick up station was completely mortified by the teenage girl in front of her. She was obviously a foreigner, because her accent made her English all but unrecognizable. To make it worse she was speaking quickly and she was on the verge of screaming.

Ran huffed away from the pick up station and sat down on a bench a within earshot of the attendant. She crossed her arms and continued to glare angrily at whatever unfortunate person happened to come into view. Conan found this opportunity too perfect to pass up and, taking advantage of her being distracted by her own emotions, slipped away from her side and made his way to a secluded area behind an equipment shed. Then he, once again, fished out his phone and dialed Ran's number.

Ran, whose mind was still clouded by her obvious frustration, felt her phone buzz in her pocket and answered it just as one would expect an angry woman to answer it: angrily.

"What?" she shouted ruthlessly at the phone, unconcerned with the identity of the caller

"Ran" was all she heard before her mind was cleared and reality brought its heavy hand down on her

"Shinichi?" she asked in disbelief. He chuckled at the mystified expression on her face that he could picture vividly in his head

"Yeah Ran, how are you?" As was commonplace with these conversations, she began to whimper as tears formed in her eyes

"Shinichi where have you been? Its been over a year since you left and I've only seen you a few times and you only call every so often….Shincihi I'm worried about you" silence fell on both ends

"Ran-" he was cut off by a now more emotional Ran

"No Shinichi! I know you're just going to say 'don't worry, I'm fine' but you can't be fine or you wouldn't be gone. If you were really fine you'd have come back already" once again her words left him unable to respond. 'What do I say to that? She's right, if it wasn't this stupid "case" I would be there' He was caught in a thought when he heard her voice whisper faintly "I want you to come back". He was suddenly red-faced and cottonmouthed by her remark. She had told him indirectly how much she missed him but to hear it from her while she was actually talking to _him_, was something completely different. He coughed, trying to verify his vocal chords were still in tact and then began to speak

"Ran, I called because I need you to know something. It's something that I've tried to tell you in the past but something has always gotten in the way." As he spoke, his tone was undeniably serious which made Ran blush furiously. She had an idea what he was trying to say but she had never imagined the words actually coming to life

"W-What is it? Shinichi tell me" she said softly but firmly

"Its just that…Ran I-"

"Ma'am your water taxi is here are ready to g-"

"No!" she screamed instinctively. She blushed at her outburst "I mean, I'm sorry, can you give me a minute, this call is kind of important" she plead with her eyes as the worker looked down at her

"We'll hold the boat for five minutes" he said coldly

"Arigato" she said enthusiastically. Meanwhile Shinich had officially begun to hyperventilate. He had been so ready to tell her his true feelings and ease her restless mind, but now he was all of the sudden cripplingly nervous "Shinichi?" Ran asked, confused by the odd pattern of breathing she heard through the phone

"Ran I uh… I just…" he was dead in the water. He had already led her on and now she wanted to the important thing he had to say. But no matter how hard he tried the thoughts in his head would not materialize into actually words. He felt a firm resolve build in his chest and he straightened up, taking a full and hearty breath of air "Ran" he said more firmly now, which startled her on the other line "I called you tell you that everyday I'm gone and you're not with me I wish you were because I'm happier when I'm with you" he released all of the unused air in a huge exhale of relief. Meanwhile the other end of the line was completely silent. To say she was in a complete state of shock would be a grand understatement. She hardly knew where she was or why she was there and her body was limp. She could actually see the ground disappearing under her and the world was suddenly a glorious place. However, in her inaudible moment of joy and ecstasy, Shinichi had been left to hear dreadful silence after his omission of love for the one he valued most in the world. "…..Ran?" Shinichi asked sheepishly

"Baka" she said affectionately "I've missed you since the day you left. I think about you more than anyone else" her voice was just barely above a whisper

" I-Ijust wanted you to know….that I really do miss you and I….I uh-"

"Shinichi" she interjected shyly "You should visit sometime soon so we can talk more. There's something I really want to tell, but not over the phone" she smiled to herself blushing at her own words

"I promise, Ran, as soon as I can I'll come see you. I have to go now, but…" he paused and contemplated his next words carefully "you should call more. Bye" and he hung up. He pressed his back to the shed he was hiding behind and slid down it, thudding hard on the ground. He had already been tired from the flight and the feelings he'd been having all day, but that last phone call had completely drained him. Somehow he managed to lift himself up off the ground and walk back toward Ran. He smiled contently when he saw her pirouetting around the bench she had been sitting on with a huge smile. He couldn't remember the last time she'd been that happy. When he walked up and addressed her, she, without missing a beat, lifted him off the ground and lifted him in the air, spinning him around with her. He looked down into her eyes and reveled in the sheer joy he had given her and realized just as quickly that she'd given it to him too. 'But' he thought to himself 'what was the important thing she wanted to tell me in person?' he mulled the idea around in his head as he and Ran walked onto the ferry that was to take them across Kips Bay. As the boat left the dock, Ran, having calmed down a little, leaned over the side of the boat and marveled at the sight of the city they were approaching. Conan looked up at her and followed her line of vision until his eyes landed on the view she was enjoying. He took a moment to appreciate the approaching landmass, which, although he had seen it before, he felt as though he was seeing it differently. He smiled at the prospect and then walked the across the deck to further ponder the question that had bothering him. Ran had no idea what he was thinking about, she only heard quiet mumblings of 'important to say' and 'what could it be' but didn't really pay him much mind. In fact, at the moment she wasn't really paying much attention to anything. Her mind was currently preoccupied with more important matters, mostly the permission she'd been given to call the one she loved as often as she pleased.

"Well kid, good luck to ya" Franky said with an encouraging grin "I know you'll do just fine." Heiji smiled back at him gratefully

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Solini" he smiled back

"Please kid, please, call me Frank" they shared a small laugh

"Thank you, Frank" As he pulled away, Heiji couldn't shake the feeling that his talk with that cabby was far too insightful to have been a mere coincidence. But he shrugged off the thought for the time being "Okay" he said aloud to himself "It's 7:12. Frank wasn't kidding about being the fastest cab in Manhattan. That guy really did drive fast though" he opened the doors to main entrance of the intimidating building. He took a seat on one of the lounge couches

"Excuse me sir" the secretary at the front desk said "Are you here on any business? Because loitering is strictly prohibited here"

"I'm waiting for someone. Or rather, two people." the secretary thought to herself for a moment

"Sir, if you're looking for people, I might be able to help. I'm great with faces. Just describe them to me and I can tell you if they've been here" Heiji pondered the opportunity

"Okay, i'll describe the girl to you. She's eighteen, Japanese, she has brown hair, green eyes, she usually wears her hair in a ponytail with a bow in it."

"Stop" she said abruptly "she was here no more than five minutes ago. She and her date just headed up to the observation deck. I believe they were planning on eating somewhere nearby afterward. If you want you c-" she was cut off by the sound of his feet hitting the tile as he ran down the hall toward the elevator. He pressed the button indicating "up" at least forty times before the doors finally opened. He pressed the button that indicated the observation deck. As the elevator began to move he felt a sudden surge go up his spine. He didn't let it faze him and kept his eyes directed at the doors of the elevator. Soon he would see her and...him. He took a deep breath and unclenched his fists as snippets of what the wise taxi driver had told him during their drive flashed in his mind's eye. He took another deep breath. The elevator kept moving. He was close, just a few more floors. He took another deep breath. A few more floors to go. He took one last deep breath.

* * *

**This is the longest single document I've ever wrote. I personally think it's one of my better sections of writing. Give me feedback if you'd be so kind, the climax of the story is on the horizon so keep reading. I'll try to have this story closed out by the end of the weekend. Thank you to all of the consistent readers of this story and my other material:**

**flowernerko**

**jon holliday 16**

**nightfalcon26**

**and **

**salimaran08**

**I don't do shout outs often, so bask in my appreciation :)**


	18. And They Had Their Back's Turned

_As the water taxi docked on the other side of the bay, Ran and Conan quickly made their way off. Once off, they ran forward to a roundabout that taxis used for pickups and awaited a ride. After a few minutes Ran's cheerful demeanor began to crumble away, replaced by a combination of irritation and impatience. _

"If this takes any longer Hattori-kun will beat us to Kazuha and then…" Ran trailed off as she inwardly contemplated the repercussions of their defeat

"Ran-neechan I'm sure Kazuha-neechan will be fine. She won't let Heiji-niisan do anything bad" Conan tried his best to appeal to her reason while still feigning ignorance. 'I don't think anyone can stop Hattori from doing something bad' he thought to himself hopelessly. As Ran seemed to hit her boiling point, a pair of headlights appeared in the distance. She smiled uncontrollably as she calmed herself and waved at the cab ecstatically. When the taxi pulled up, the passenger side window was rolled down and a friendly voice could be heard from the driver seat

"Hey you two, where ya' headin'?"

"Empire…State Builing" Ran said, using her shaky English

"Hop in I'll have ya' there in a sec'. After all I'm the fastest cab in New York" he proclaimed confidently, giving a cocky grin and a thumbs up to accompany the statement. As Ran and Conan entered the cab, the cabby seemed to be fixated on Conan. Conan, perceptive as he is, noticed this instantly but didn't question it. Not verbally anyway, he wanted to investigate further. 'What's up with this cab driver?' he contemplated as they drove off

_Meanwhile, on the top of Empire State Building, Toyama Kazuha was plagued with anxiety. Despite this, she was still completely awestruck at the view of the city she was currently enjoying. _

She leaned against the fence that blocked off the edge of the building, mesmerized by the collage of lights and people that seemed so miniscule from her vantage point. As she became lost in the view, she felt two arms wrap themselves around her torso, tracing their fingers lightly across her stomach and catching her in a tight embrace. She blushed at the attention then turned to address the person behind her: James. She smiled half-heartedly, still stricken by the ominous task that stood before her. Her blissful moment had been ruined by the now prominent memory of the reason she was there with him. He smiled at her warmly, completely oblivious to her internal struggle. For Kazuha, there was no question that she had to stop their pseudo-relationship. There was no conflict there; she wanted Heiji and that was it. However, it nonetheless hurt her to give James such heart wrenching news.

"Hey pretty girl" he said suavely, succeeded in sounded very romantic

She blushed lightly "Hey to you". They exchanged glances for a few moments before she was taken aback by an uninvited gesture that caused her face to blaze red in shock and embarrassment. James was not making the situation any easier for Kazuha

_Meanwhile, Ran and Conan jumped out their taxi hastily as it pulled up to the Empire State Building ground floor entrance. They ran in after paying the driver and the driver pulled away slowly, observing their movements closely. Ran sprinted uncouthly toward the front desk, dragging Conan behind her._

"Excuse me, have yo-"

"You're looking for the dark skinned Japanese boy right?" The secretary said smugly

"Uh...yes. How did yo-"

"That doesn't matter now. He just took the elevator up to the sky deck."

"Arigato" Ran said curtly already turned toward the elevator. While Ran was too mentally preoccupied to notice, Conan was now officially in detective mode. 'Who was that taxi driver? How did that secretary know who we were looking for? There is definitely something going on here' he deduced. His contemplations were interrupted, however, by a strong tug on his hand "Conan-kun hurry and get in the elevator, we have to get to Kazuha-chan before Hattori-kun does!" She was completely frantic

"Ran-neechan I'm sure Heiji-niisan is fine" he said with a huge, childish smile. Ran just turned to him and smiled uneasily before facing forward again. At this point, there was nothing he could do, she was far too worked up.

_Meanwhile, back at the main desk, the secretary smiled confidently as she saw a familiar face enter the building. The figure returned her smile with a grin of his own. When he arrived at the desk, they looked at each other for a moment before finally speaking_

"You did an excellent job" the secretary whispered as she reached for the corner of her jaw line

"As did you honey. I was so happy when you agreed to help" Frank Solini said appreciatively as he reached for the same spot on his jaw his counterpart had. Suddenly, in an overly dramatic fashion, the two ripped away the masks they were wearing and revealed their true faces

"Our Shinichi-kun needs all the help he can get" Yuusaku grunted, removing the secretary outfit he was wearing to reveal a formal suit and tie

"Oh Shin-chan! How I do love him but he can get himself into trouble" Yukiko screamed gleefully as she tore away her outfit to reveal a beautiful robin's egg blue dress, shimmering in the light of the room "Honey, do you think he suspected us?"

"I know he suspected me, I wanted him too. We were going to tell what we did when we saw him for lunch tomorrow regardless, so I thought I should give him a deductive warm-up beforehand." Yuusaku grinned at his wife as he placed his glasses back on the arch of his nose

"Tehe this was so much fun!" Yukiko chuckled playfully

"Yes dear, it was. Now, shall we go?" He said, leaping over the desk that divided them and placing a hand on the small of her back

"Oh, Yuusaku, you're so energetic tonight!" Yukiko acknowledged, laughing warmly as she gave her husband a chaste kiss. She leaned against his shoulder, wrapping both her arms around his left arm and together they exited the building.

_Meanwhile, back on the top floor of the Empire State Building, James stood awestruck at Kazuha who had pushed him off of her forcefully after he had surprised her with a passionate kiss_

"K-Kazuha" James stuttered stupidly, completely baffled by his supposed girlfriend's reaction to his advance

"James-san you can't just DO that!" Kazuha screamed angrily

"Kazuha, I've been waiting weeks to do that. I brought you to the most beautiful view in the city so I could proclaim my love for you with a kiss" He said genuinely

"James…there's a reason I came here tonight. There's….something important I have to tell." She searched deep within herself for courage and found little

"What is it? You can tell me" he assured her, taking her by the shoulders and locking their eyes

"I…I can't do this anymore. Seeing you, I mean." She muttered sheepishly. He kept his eye's linked with hers even after her admission, seeking out any evidence of falsehood. When he found none he leaned forward and kissed her again, this time more lustfully than before. He pressed her against the fence she had been leaning on and trapped her. This, was the moment Heiji appeared.

_Heiji stood anxiously waiting for the elevator doors to open and release him from the steel box he had been trapped in for what seemed like an eternity. When it opened, his heart beat furiously while the cold air quickly covered his body with unnoticed goosebumps. When the doors were completely open, he exited and began to search the floor for Kazuha. Unfortunately, he found her, relatively swiftly_

He stood a few feet away from her, from…them. There she was, wrapped up in the arms of another man, passionately locking lips with him. If there was a way to catch your lover being adulterous, this was NOT it. After a few seconds of the display she finally cuffed him in the throat and he stumbled back, holding his neck and coughing violently. He could see her eyes blazing angrily at the man whom he could only assume was her new lover. This glare only lasted a few seconds before she noticed his presence and her eyes softened.

"I…I don't know what to say to you" Heiji said coldly, avoiding her eyes, which were now enveloped in tears "I'll just go" he spat out as he turned away. He hadn't even made it a step before he felt two slender arms wrap around his shoulders. Her hands fell to rest on his chest and she clutched him roughly.

"Please Heiji, don't leave. Don't leave me" she cried out desperately

"It's not really 'leaving you' if you've already left me" he darted his head down at his feet, not making any visible effort to release himself from her grasp

"Heiji let me expla-"

"Explain? What's there to explain?" he roared furiously as he felt her shudder against his back

"Heiji I came here tonight to tell him I couldn't see him anymore. I started seeing him as a friend but he thought it was more. It was my fault, I let it go further than it should've" she whimpered helplessly. Despite his better judgment, he turned around without sacrificing their proximity. He held her shoulders aggressively and looked into her eyes forcefully. He didn't blink, nor did she despite the numerous times she wiped the tears away from her eyes. There was nothing for him to say; he believed her. No matter how improbable or unrealistic her story seemed, he believed her.

"Then why…." He started cautiously, fearful of his question's answer "why did you kiss him." He finished, growing angry at the recollection of her lusty kiss with the guy that he noticed, was still standing behind them.

"She wanted me, that's why" James said egotistically to the back of Heiji's head. He turned around and gave him a glare that, in comparison to his many other jealous glares of the past, was undoubtedly more terrifying.

"James-san!" Kazuha screeched, still standing mere inches away from Heiji with her hands on his chest

"You know it's true. You started seeing me because you noticed I was good looking and you wanted me for yourself." Kazuha stared at him, mortified by the words he spoke and the look Heiji was still giving him

"You know that's a lie. You asked me out as a friend and that's all it was" James smirked mischievously at her, trying hard to ignore Heiji's unrelenting gaze

"Kazuha, are you going to say that the kiss we just had wasn't magical? That it wasn't the best moment of your life?" He took a few steps toward her and gently grabbed her chin. He looked into her eyes which her still dumbfounded by the whole situation "I can still taste you on my li-" before he could a fist was deeply embedded in his cheek and he hurdled awkwardly to the side. He stirred for a moment before lifting a hand and then thudding hard on the ground.

_Ran had been unraveling slowly as the elevator ascended the many floors of the massive building. She hadn't moved, aside from the nervous shaking of her hands and the repeated tapping of her foot. Conan was worried by her almost unhealthy anxiety, but at the same time was still preoccupied by the conspicuous behavior of the taxi driver and the secretary they had recently come in contact with. His thoughts were once again cut off by a tug at his hand when the elevator doors opened and Ran began to frantically hunt for Kazuha. Unfortunately, when she found her, she was already face to face with Heiji and her other male suitor was standing off to the side_

Ran gave Conan a quiet signal to stay back and keep silent. When he nodded, she slowly made her way toward the group, remaining as inaudible as humanly possible. Many years of karate had made her very light on her feet. When she got within earshot she stopped and concentrated on the exchange that was taking place between them. From what she could hear, it was now James and Kazuha who were talking and Heiji was just glaring and James threateningly. Ran crept closer, trying to hear exactly what they were saying. She got within a few feet of James when she finally stopped and settled in to listen. She was invisible to Kazuha because Heiji obstructed her view and Heiji was completely focused on James.

"Kazuha, are you going to say that the kiss we just had wasn't magical? That it wasn't the best moment of your life?" Ran heard him say seductively as he inched closer to her. She clenched her fists at her sides, noticing Heiji do the same. They both stood there with murderous intent as James took a hold of Kazuha's chin. As James spoke, Ran felt her anger boil over and took a few measured and calculated steps toward him

"…taste you on my li-" before he could finish his perverted and unwelcome statement she had her fist buried deep into the side of his face. She hardened her expression as she pushed her punch through which sent him flying. She smirked to herself, pleased with the decisive strike she had just dealt. Conan stared at her, shocked and terrified by her tremendous power. As he stared at her, standing confidently with a hand on each hip looking happily at the victim of her fury, he couldn't help but blush as he remembered that was one of the many innumerable reasons he loved her. He trotted up from behind her and took his place standing next to her

"Ran-neechan is so cool!" he exclaimed adolescently and yet honestly. She beamed down at him

"No one gets to sexual harass my friend like that!" She declared proudly as she turned to face the two teenagers. When she laid eyes on them, her face flushed and she grabbed Conan's arm, and, for the third time that night, dragged him away without any indication. As they re-entered the elevator and watched the doors close, she released Conan's hand and fluttered her eyes at the steel doors. She clasped her hands together and pressed them to her chest as she let out a heavy, content sigh and became lost in a daydream

"Ran-neechan what are you thinking about?" Conan asked innocently, although he was actually very curious. She swiveled her head around nervously before addressing him

"N-Nothing!" she spat out abruptly "I mean...nothing someone your age needs to know about" she said, smiling maternally. Conan was now more perplexed than ever, but decided he would just wait until later and ask her as himself. Until then, however, he was going to rack his brain to figure it out.

_Back on the sky deck, the tables had been turned on Heiji. After he had built up a little courage and planted a long but chaste kiss on Kazuha's lips, she had begun to question his presence. _

Heiji stared down at her, confused by her sudden flurry of aggression. She pushed off of his chest and stood in front of him with a closed fist at each side

"What are you even doing here!" she inquired angrily

"What? I come here to see you and you scream at me!" Heiji retorted

"You don't just fly across the planet for no reason! Why did you really come here?" Heiji faltered for a moment "Ha! I knew it! That little kid told about the conversation I had with Ran! You were jealous so you came here to see if I was seeing someone" she stared at him, judging his every word and movement

"I well….its just…" he let out a deep breath of defeat "You're right." She looked at him sympathetically "I heard about what you were doing and I couldn't stand the idea of you…ya' know….cheating." he stood there frozen by his own words until her hands cupped his face gently

"Aho, I can't believe you thought I would do that" she forced their eyes to meet and looked at him disheartened "Don't you trust me?" That question could very well have been the last thing he wanted to hear at that moment. The only comment that might have rivaled it was 'I'm pregnant with that guy's child'. She kept gazing into his eyes, begging him to respond. He choked on his own breath as he attempted to speak. When he finally did whisper his response, it was the most unguarded, vulnerable voice she had ever heard him use

"I was just scared" She thought on his statement for a moment before wrapping her arms around his abdomen and pressing her forehead to his chest. He was taken back by the gesture but quickly returned it. Then, in a muffled voice he heard her whisper into his chest

"To think, the Great Detective of the West is scared of me" she giggled lightly to herself and he smiled down at her

"You're the only person in the world that can scare me like that." He pressed a kiss to her head and she squeezed him tighter. Despite how comfortable they were in that position, she turned herself around and leaned back against his body. He fell back against the fence but welcomed its support. She allowed her hands to fall to her sides and his hands swiftly met them and interlocked their fingers. He let his chin come to rest on the top of her head and she grinned and closed her eyes, enjoying the incomparable comfort his presence warranted her. They were on the sky deck of the Empire State Building, one of the most breathtaking views the country has to offer, and they had their backs turned to it.

* * *

**That's it.**

**I will be posting an epilogue of the lunch meeting between Ran, Conan Yukiko and Yuusaku.**

**Thanks for reading.**

**I'm going to be posting a few shorts, just to rest for a bit then I'll be starting my new project. It will most likely be the longest undertaking yet.**

**Here's a little preview:**

Boss sat calmy behind his desk with his face masked by the darkness around him. Gin stood a few feet to his right, a cigarette in his mouth and a devilsih grin on his face. Vermouth sat in a chair ten feet away from Boss' desk, facing right at him. Boss slowly reached for a cigar that was resting on his desk and spun it in his hand for a moment. Then he cut the end and lit it, created a large red light amidst the darkness. Vermouth began to feel the tension in the room. Never had she been outside of Boss' good graces, but now she was nearing the top of his list. His list was one that no human being on earth wanted to be on. She sensed him smiring at her, even though she couldn't see his face. His voice broke the silence that had lingered in the room for the past five minutes

"Vermouth" he said concisely "I am aware of your treason" she squirmed in her seat, feeling the heat of his gaze "i cannot evrify any of the allegations against you, but I can see that you have made one too many friends outside the syndicate." Gin chuckled audibly at the words he knew were coming "So, Vermouth, your next assignment is very simple. You must prove your loyalty to myself and the entire Organization. Vermotuh, you must kill Kudo Yukiko, you're only friend in this world."


End file.
